


Into Enemy Lands

by KatWrech



Series: Forest AU's [9]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, In the Forest of Huckybucky, The Huckubucky Forest
Genre: F/M, I've literally only taken the characters and plopped them into Hogwarts, M/M, Marvin is a killer machine smh, Voldemort Dies, have fun, tell me if something should be tagged, you don't have to read The Huckybucky Forest to understand this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 17:06:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12845643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatWrech/pseuds/KatWrech
Summary: Marvin, Claus, Sabby and Morten all open their door to find a distressed human outside. She says she's a witch. She says they're going to Hogwarts. What? First of all, they're far too old. Second of all, they're animals. Third of all - wHAT.*Hermione, Harry and Ron are nervous and unsure about these new students that show up at the beginning of their fifth year. Hermione hesitantly tries to make friends.*Morten is shy but loves the feeling of magic on his fingers.*Sabby is energic and loves Hufflepuff.*Claus is mind blown.*Marvin is suspicious and honestly, he only went because the three mice are absolutely defenseless without him.*At the end of the year, all of them have to face a greater enemy - and if some odd things happen between the start and the end of the year... well, that can hardly be blamed on them.





	Into Enemy Lands

**Author's Note:**

> In which they go to Hogwarts.

Minerva McGonagall stared at the words in shock. It was, as usual, Rowena Ravenclaw’s magical quill that wrote down who would be allowed a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, this year, something was off about the names on the list.

“Albus!” Minerva called, and her voice was shaking. Mere moments later, and Albus Dumbledore popped his head into the room.

“What is the matter, Minerva?”

With a simple hand-gesture, Minerva waved Albus into the room and pointed at the book. “This is so strange,” she said. “They all appear to be animals!”

Albus was staring at the book and quill with a grave expression. “I am afraid, Minerva, that they appear to be. However, Rowena’s Quill has never been wrong before, and surely, it would not start to be now, would it?”

Minerva frowned, a bit unhappy about this. “I suppose not,” she muttered. Then she sighed. “I will find them and give them their letters, Albus.”

His eyes were twinkling. “I know I can trust you, Minerva.”

With a curt nod, Minerva grabbed the handful of letters that had been addressed to these strange people, and was out of the door before Albus could blink. He hummed quietly to himself, bent down, and read over the names once more.

 _(mgl. born)Marvin Fox, Marvin’s den, Huckybucky Forest_  
(mgl. born)Claus Climbermouse, Claus’ house, Huckybucky Forest  
(mgl. born)Morten Woodmouse, Morten’s house, Huckybucky Forest  
(mgl. born)Sabrina the Storehouse Mouse, the Storehouse, the Farm

If nothing else, Albus mused, Harry Potter’s fifth year at Hogwarts would prove entertaining.

*

Minerva, meanwhile, was doing a great job at being stupidly nervous about finding these animals. She had used five _Point Me_ spells, and was now fairly sure that she would be able to find Mr. Woodmouse’s house in the middle of all this… _forest_. Yes, they were indeed living in a forest.

And wow, okay, Mr. Woodmouse’s house was an actual, real house, and it was much larger than she would have anticipated. She felt a bit like Gandalf would feel in the Shire, but she swallowed the feeling down, reached out, and knocked on the door.

Mere moments later did the door swing open, and- oh dear, he actually was a mouse, and he was huge. Half the size of a grown man, nearly a meter tall. He was wearing a green vest over a white shirt, and Minerva could see a handkerchief in his front pocket. Well, at least he appeared to be a gentle- uh. Mammal.

Said gentlemammal’s eyes went wide when he took her in. “Uh, he- hello?” he squeaked, his fingers –claws?- tightening around the doorframe. Minerva tried to give a reassuring smile.

“Mr. Woodmouse, I have some important information that you should know about. My name is Minerva McGonagall, and I am a Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am most happy to inform you that you are welcome as one of our students.”

Mr. Woodmouse’s eyes went so wide that Minerva feared they would fall out of his head. “M- me?” he squeaked. “B- but-!”

“May I come in, so we can discuss this?” Minerva asked politely, and Mr. Woodmouse appeared to remember his manners as he quickly stepped back to allow her inside.

“O- of course, come right in, I do believe I have some cake somewhere…”

*

When Claus opened his front door, he was tempted to slam it shut again. Well, to be fair, it was a common reaction among animals to do so when you found a human in front of your house. Instead of slamming it shut, however, Claus stared dumbly up at the black-clad woman’s stern face. “Mr. Climbermouse, I presume?” she asked, and Claus nodded stiffly.

“That’s me,” he said. “Who are you?”

“ _Claus_ ,” a voice hissed, immediately followed by a sigh. “There’s no need to be rude!”

“Morten?” Claus said, and now his eyes were starting to grow wider. “What are you doing here?”

The other mouse grimaced, and fidgeted a bit in place. “Just- let Professor McGonagall in and tell you what’s going on.”

Claus Did Not understand what the actual fuck was going on, but he opened his door wider and let the strange woman in.

*

Minerva was growing increasingly more uncomfortable as the day continued. It was quickly climbing towards the top of her ‘Odd Days at Work’ list.

She now had two mice following her, and one of them had started to sing. The other was frantically shushing the first, and Minerva Did Not want to turn around and find out which one was which.

At least they seemed enthusiastic enough, she mused. She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not.

Finally, the singing stopped, and Minerva took a relieved breath. Fair enough, he was good at it, but still. She didn’t want to strangle her new students before term even started.

“Who’re we going to next?” the singer piped up, and Minerva decided that this must be Mr. Climbermouse. Mr. Woodmouse was much more polite.

“Marvin Fox,” Minerva said, trying to be patient.

It wasn’t easy.

“Oh! He’s coming with us?” Mr. Climbermouse asked, and Minerva couldn’t help but to notice the smile in his voice.

“If he agrees, then yes,” Minerva said.

Mr. Climbermouse laughed. “Oh, he must agree! Wait here, and I’ll go find him!” And with that, he disappeared into the trees.

“Uhm?” said Minerva.

Mr. Woodmouse sighed. “The fox has no home. He sleeps in his den, but that’s it. Claus will find him, don’t worry. They… know each other.”

“Ah?” said Minerva. “Know each other?” Wasn’t that common? To know each other in such a small place?

Mr. Woodmouse stuttered a bit as he searched for the right answer. “I think that, deep down, they consider each other friends, but… Marvin always chased Claus more than he chased anyone else, and Claus treated it like a, like a game… I guess you could call them rivals, of a sort.”

Minerva hummed, and she kept an eye on where Mr. Climbermouse had disappeared. _Interesting_.

*

When Sabby had followed Morten into the woods, she wasn’t sure what to expect. It certainly wasn’t this.

Oh, what ‘this’ was?

Nothing important, just a tall woman clad in black robes and a pointy hat, is all. Not to mention that behind her, to her left, stood Morten, almost reaching up to her waist. Almost. Claus was on her other side, and next to Claus again, stood a brooding _Marvin_ , who was some inches away from reaching the old woman’s shoulders.

“Hello, Sabby!” said Claus, and waved cheerily. “We’re going to a magical school!”

“If you say yes, of course,” Morten added, and then he began to talk.

After mere three seconds, Sabby zoned out and focused an eye and an ear on Marvin and Claus, who were talking quietly to each other.

“What’s wrong?” Claus asked cheerily, but Sabby had always been good at reading people and he was obviously worried.

Marvin, who had been fidgeting for a while, muttered a quiet, “Don’t like being so close to the farm,” and Claus’ smile slipped.

“O-oh,” he said. He then reached out, hesitated, and patted Marvin’s arm.

“Sabrina? _Sabrina_!” Morten called, and Sabby’s attention was returned to him. She hummed in reply, and Morten started talking again. “Professor McGonagall asked what your last name is.”

“Oh,” said Sabby. “Oh!” she repeated. “I don’t have one!”

The woman’s eye twitched, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Then, would Miss Ace work?”

Sabby shrugged, not really caring too much. “Sure!” Then she finally started wondering about what the four of them were doing here. Hadn’t Morten said something about that earlier?

Wait.

Magical school?

*  
To say that Claus was excited would be a lie. Claus was absolutely blown out of his _mind_ and happy about it. He was, in fact, bouncing in his seat, much to Marvin’s irritation. That McGonagall woman –Professor McGonagall, Claus reminded himself, _Professor_ \- had talked and discussed with the animals and the other Professors, and they had all agreed that they would be taught alongside the first years, but have all the benefits of the older years. It would be the best for everyone. They would also receive their own rooms within their House Dorms, for their own safety.

They didn’t mind. All of them knew what it was like to be bullied.

In addition, because of their strange circumstances, they would be able to drop out of school anytime. They couldn’t come back, though. They had one chance, and one chance only.

Although, to be honest, Claus was a bit… well, a mix of confused and unsettled. Consettled? Unfused? Anyways, he had _feelings_ about the fact that they hadn’t been invited earlier. And that they had been invited at all. They were the first one in the whole History of Hogwarts to receive their Hogwarts letters after the year they filled 11. Not to mention the fact that they were wild animals! When asked about it, however, Professor McGonagall had given an equally confused shrug and muttered something about a quill.

“Which house do you think you’ll be in?” Claus asked, just to have something to talk about.

“I don’t care,” Marvin replied. Not two seconds later, and he muttered, “But Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad.”

Sabby was smiling a wide, blending smile. She hadn’t stopped smiling after she understood what was happening, at it didn’t seem like she was gonna stop anytime soon. “I don’t care where I end up,” she said. “It doesn’t really matter to me. It’s good enough to be here, at a magical school.”

“A- and with humans, nonetheless,” Morten butted in, giving a nervous grin. “I just hope we end up in the same house. I’d rather not be alone.” His face fell at the notion, and Sabby reached over to pat his knee.

Claus smiled at the world in general. “I’m aimin’ for Gryffindor,” he said, and to his left, Marvin snorted.

“You would,” he muttered.

“I’m a bit scared, to be honest.” Morten was looking down at his lap and fiddling with his paws, obviously nervous. “They’re all larger than us, and they’re not used to… to talking animals.”

“We’re not used to nice humans,” Marvin pointed out, but no one seemed to care.

“Come now, Morten,” Claus said, ever so cheerful. “This is a world of magic! It can’t be _that_ weird for them, can it now?”

Marvin opened his mouth and was about to say something, when the door to the compartment opened and a human stepped in.

They all froze at the exact same time, and Claus, although his hearing wasn’t as good as Marvin’s, could hear their hearts picking up speed. “-oh,” the young woman said. “Uhm.”

Claus forced himself to relax. They were safe. He was safe. They were all good.

His heartbeat didn’t calm down, and Marvin shot him a knowing look, but he could fool the girl and he knew it. “Hi!” he said, and only those who knew him could tell that his voice was too strained. “I’m Claus. Who’re you?”

The girl’s eyes went wider as she took the lot of them in. “Uhm, er… my- my name is Hermione Granger.”

“Well then, Hermione, why don’t you come in and sit down?” Claus offered, and Morten’s head turned so fast his neck cracked. He mouthed a terrified _‘what?_ ’, but Hermione didn’t seem to notice as she stumbled into the compartment. “Which year are you in?” Claus continued, and Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times, like a stranded fish.

“F-fifth,” she finally said. Then she apparently regained some of her bravery, because she straightened up and looked straight at Marvin. “Who are you?”

He stared at her for a while, and Claus could see how his ears slowly drooped. She was afraid of him. “Marvin,” Marvin said. “Marvin Fox.”

Hermione gave a curt nod and turned towards Morten. He gave an undignified squeak and paled drastically. “M-Morten Woodmouse!” he hurried to say, when it was clear that Hermione wouldn’t move on.

“Sabrina,” Sabby said, even before Hermione could bore her eyes into her. “Ace. Sabrina Ace.”

“What exactly are you doing here?” Hermione asked, all without taking her eyes off them. She had scooted all the way over to the door, and sat on Morten and Sabby’s side. It was probably to keep her eyes on Marvin, Claus mused, and his expression grew dark.

Everyone looked at Claus, but he was lost in thought and didn’t answer. “W-we received the letters.” Morten stumbled over the words of his explanation, but he got the message over.

Marvin suddenly reached over and slapped the back of Claus’ head, successfully tearing him away from his thoughts and making him focus on Morten and Hermione’s strained conversation. “Wake up,” Marvin hissed. “Stay on your guard.”

Claus shot him a mocking glare and rubbed his head. “Sorry,” he muttered sarcastically. But he understood his worry. They couldn’t trust any humans just yet.

Suddenly, the door opened again and another human stepped in. Hermione recognized him, apparently, and lit up. “Ron!” she exclaimed. But Ron wasn’t looking at her.

He was looking at Marvin. “Uhm,” he said. “Hermione, what’s that?”

A horrifying silence lasted for almost ten seconds before Marvin got his shit together. “I’m not a thing,” he finally spat. “The name’s Marvin. I’m a red fox.”

Ron nodded dumbly, with wide eyes, and pointed at Claus. “And what’re _you_?”

“Ron!” Hermione exclaimed, but this time it wasn’t with joy and there was no glow in her eyes. “These nice animals are new students at Hogwarts, and you will treat them as such!”

“Er. Right,” Ron said, and Hermione groaned. She got up from her seat, shot Morten an apologetic look, grabbed Ron’s hand and pulled him out of the compartment, slamming the door shut behind her.

The four of them stared at the now closed door, and Sabby slowly reached out and locked it. Claus sighed and looked out the window, and Morten rubbed at his eyes. Marvin, however, continued to stare emptily at the door. “I think you should reconsider,” he finally drawled.

Claus turned to look at him.  “Huh?”

“They were Gryffindors,” Marvin explained. “If they’re all like that you don’t wanna go there.”

All the air in Claus left him, and he deflated like a balloon. He’d hoped he would get into Gryffindor- he didn’t want the other animals to understand exactly _how_ he usually got food, and if he went into Gryffindor no one would suspect a thing…

oh well, he wasn’t supposed to choose anyways.

He sighed, and pulled his feet into the seat. “I regret my life choices,” he muttered, and Marvin barked a laugh.

*

Hogwarts wasn’t great, Morten decided. It was magnificent. And oh, there were humans _everywhere_. They were surrounding him, and the fact that he could still see stuff was only because the first years were so small, and he was standing out at the side next to Sabrina, Claus and Marvin.

During their stay at Diagon Alley, Morten had gotten his paws on _Hogwarts: A History_ , and found out about the Sorting Hat. But even though they knew what was coming, they weren’t prepared. Not at all.

Sabrina, the poor girl, was first up due to her surname. She swallowed thickly, but steeled herself and walked up to the stool, sat down and put on the hat. The few moments that passed where tense, and Morten swore that his heartbeat was louder than Claus’ whispering next to him.

Then, finally, the hat ripped open at the brim and cried out, “HUFFLEPUFF!”

Applause from the Hufflepuffs. Sabrina’s face split up into a wide smile, and she tore of the hat and ran for the yellow table. Someone scooted over to allow her space, and she beamed at them. A few people asked questions, but for the most part, they seemed friendly.

Morten caught her eye and gave her a small smile and a subtle thumbs up.

The next up was Claus, and he plastered on a smile and walked confidently up to the stool.

If Morten had thought that Sabrina had used a long time, then Claus took a lifetime. He seemed to be arguing with the hat; his paws were clenched tightly around the edge of the seat and he kept mouthing words. His eyes were screwed shut, and he was, on top of it all, frowning.

After the long silence, the cry of “SLYTHERIN!” was sudden. There was applause from the room in general, but Claus had lost some of his cheerfulness. He took of the hat, and on his face was a part terrified, part perplexed expression.

When Morten caught his eye, he gave him a reassuring smile. It didn’t matter to him where Claus ended up, as long as the other mouse wouldn’t change terribly much.

Morten tried to focus on the other first years being sorted, but his mind kept drifting away and his eyes were drawn to the Hufflepuff table the whole time. In the end, he ignored the rest of the sorting.

Until Professor McGonagall called out, “Fox, Marvin,” and Marvin let out a shaky breath. Morten could barely make out that he was muttering ‘Slytherin’ repeatedly under his breath when he began to walk, and then he was the last mouse and animal left among the humans.

Marvin went to Slytherin, a surprise for no one, and Claus seemed to tip over in relief. When the fox hurried over to the table, the mouse immediately moved over to make space.

Morten prayed that he wouldn’t end up in Gryffindor. He really, really didn’t want to be alone among people like Ron and Hermione. They weren’t mean, per se, but he just… got some bad vibes around them. They seemed like trouble.

“Woodmouse, Morten!”

His legs were shaking when he walked across the large floor, and he stumbled a bit when he got over to the stool.

‘Ah,’ a cool voice said in his head. ‘Another one of you peculiar ones.’

 _I’m the last one_ , Morten thought. He’d decided, on forehand, that he wouldn’t be surprised by anything, and even though a talking hat was unsettling, it wasn’t the first thing to surprise him. _Er. If you mean us animals, that is._

The hat chuckled _. ‘Indeed. Well, over to business.’_ There was a pause _. ‘You are by far the easiest to sort.’_

 _What do you-_ Morten began, but he was interrupted by the cry of “HUFFLEPUFF!”

His shoulders sagged in relief. Thank God.

*

To say that Marvin was tense would be an understatement. He was a fucking _statue_. There had been stares and glares and snotty comments since the dinner had begun, and there was smell and noise _everywhere_. He missed the forest something terribly. He missed the smell of fresh air, the natural scent of the animals roaming between the trees, the sound of birds chirping up above…

Here, among humans, his claws raked across the floor wherever he walked, and the air was filled with the smell of sweat and perfumes. He didn’t like it.

Strange, that he often thought he would be better off elsewhere. Anywhere but the Huckybucky Forest. Now Marvin wanted to do nothing but curl up inside of his den and walk upon soft grass and feel dirt underneath his paws.

And next to him, Claus was pretending that nothing was wrong while he chattered on and on about their classes with some cautious first year. As if Marvin hadn’t seen the look of pure horror on his face when he realizes he was sorted into Slytherin, and the relief when Marvin came after him.

Well, if Claus didn’t want to be on his guard and watch out for dangers, then Marvin had to do it for him. While these humans didn’t possess any guns, like the farmers, they possessed something far more dangerous.

Magic.

And yes, Marvin and Claus did also, apparently, possess magic, but they had no idea how to wield it. They were four animals among thousands of humans, and those they had been put among seemed like a suspicious and snarky lot.

At the beginning of this, Marvin swore that they’d all return home, alive and well. These Slytherins might very well try to kill them, and Marvin _would not_ allow that to happen.

He hadn’t actually wanted to go, but then he’d met Claus’ pleading gaze, back in the forest, when Professor McGonagall had explained everything. He’d sighed, but found that he couldn’t say no. Especially if only three, and maybe only two, mice went. Alone, they would be defenseless.

So off he went, into enemy lands to learn enemy crafts.

Marvin’s shoulders stiffened further, and he scowled down at his plate. “So you’re the new ones everyone’s talking about,” a voice drawled, and Marvin turned around on the bench to face a boy around his own height. He had pointy face, grey eyes and reeked of sick flowers. Marvin’s hackles rose threateningly; he didn’t like this stranger. He reminded him of his past.

“Got a problem with that?” Marvin replied, and Claus turned away from his conversation to tune into theirs.

The boy shrugged, and looked at them with almost hungry eyes. “I’m just saying you should be careful around here,” he said. “Slytherins support each other. The other houses will scorn you.”

Marvin shot a look at Claus just in time to catch his eyes going cold and to see a mask slipping on. “Will they?” Claus asked sweetly, and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

The boy nodded, apparently not noticing the hint of venom in Claus’ voice. “Absolutely.” He then thrust out a pale, slender hand, and Marvin stared down at it with a light sneer. Claus’ expression didn’t change at all. “The name’s Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.”

“You don’t say,” Claus said slowly, not quite a drawl but almost there. He then turned around and continued his former conversation as if nothing had happened.

The Malfoy boy spluttered for a bit before tucking his hand back against his side. He muttered, “You have no idea what you just did, idiot,” and marched away.

Slowly, Marvin turned back to the table and tapped Claus’ shoulder. “You just made a huge political move,” he murmured, just loud enough for the mouse to hear, as he took in how the whole Slytherin table was staring at them in shock and disgust.

“Oh, I know,” Claus replied, and there was an angry glint in his eyes when he stabbed his potatoes with a fork. Perhaps he was imagining Draco’s face. “He won’t know what hit him.”

That was when Marvin realized that Claus had fooled them all, and had now decided to stop.

There was a tingly feeling in his chest, which quickly spread throughout his body, and Marvin found that he couldn’t stop the large grin from spreading on his face. He was strangely excited about this.

*

After the magnificent dinner, in which Sabby ate lots of everything, the mouse spent a long time sitting in the common room with the two fifth year girls Hannah and Susan. Morten had excused himself after a few minutes, and told them that he was exhausted after the long trip. The three giggling girls had waved him goodnight, and they then proceeded to huddle together in a pile in front of the fireplace.

Sabby told them about the Huckybucky Forest- well, what she knew of it, at least. She told them about the Storehouse, and about the farmers, and about Hannibal. She told them about how Bernie Jr. had been kidnapped, recently, much to their horror. They _ooh_ ’d and _ahh_ ’d at how Claus and Morten had come to rescue him, and how Marvin had swooped in at the last minute to save everyone.

They never asked her about how it was to be a mouse, just how it was to live in a forest. They were never rude, and they never asked silly questions about how she was able to walk and talk and apparently perform magic.

And when the three of them departed, two hours later, Sabrina was still smiling.

*

The first day of classes, Claus found, was utterly boring and a load of bullshit. Professor McGonagall, who taught Transfiguration, had done her very best not to act like she had seen their homes or that she knew them at all. In fact, she ignored them for mostly the whole class.

Professor Flitwick, a man that was actually _smaller_ than the mice, even if only by ten centimeters, was delighted at having someone non-human to teach, and he had done his very best to include them. In the end, Claus had hoped it would end soon. It felt like the whole class was about them.

A ghost, one that wasn’t even aware he was dead, taught history of Magic. Need Claus say more?

Professor Umbridge was a complete bore. Claus had actually fallen asleep in her class, and a frantic Marvin had to wake him up.

But hey, at least they learned how to transfigure a match into a needle… kind of.

Then of course you had their _classmates_. Whenever they passed someone in the halls, whether they be Slytherins or not, they would stare at either them or their green and silver ties. The only ones who weren’t being rude about it were the upper years in Hufflepuff, and a few Ravenclaws. Although, Claus figured, the Ravenclaws must have been because they were too busy reading to notice them.

In class, the Slytherins ignored them; the Gryffindors stared, unsure about what to make of them; the Ravenclaws looked at them if they were something to be studied; and the Hufflepuffs… well, there was Morten, Sabby, and her two friends, but the rest of the first years avoided them like the plague.

And besides, it was almost impossible to find their way to class on time! They had taken to asking the portraits, but they usually ended up with four different sets of instructions and fifteen house points less. The ghosts weren’t easy to talk to, either; the Bloody Baron kept to himself, and the only other was Nearly Headless Nick, who only seemed to try and help if they were a few minutes late, far away from their classroom, and if was Claus doing the talking.

Marvin had tried, but Peeves had showed up and then hell broke loose. They had appeared at potions with bubble gum inn their fur, scorch marks on their robes and Marvin half-dragging Claus. When Professor Snape had raised an eyebrow at them, they simply said “Peeves,” and all they received was a loss of house points.

 _Well_ , Claus thought, at the end of their third day. _At least we’re getting the hang of it_. “Good night, Marvin,” he said, for the fifth time.

“Shut up,” came the reply from the closed blinds, and Claus giggled before rolling over and closing his eyes.

It was going to be okay. They were in this together.

*

To be honest, the Ravenclaws _did_ have a good reason for being a bit sour, Morten mused. He would have been sour, too.

Hannah Abbot had a friend in Ravenclaw, and he had invited her to a study group. She’d asked if she could bring some friends, and the Ravenclaw boy had said sure.

Hannah then proceeded to invite Susan, Sabrina, himself, Claus and Marvin. Not that Claus and Marvin knew her at all, but Sabrina had begged and begged and begged, and in the end, Hannah had given in.

Obviously, the Ravenclaws would be a bit stumped if six had showed up when they expected two. Especially as two of these were Slytherins. “So,” Terry, the Ravenclaw boy, said a bit stiffly. “How are you faring in Slytherin?”

Claus immediately sighed. “They’re so cold!” he exclaimed, shaking his head mournfully. “They’re smirking or glaring all the time, and none of them sing! They can’t appreciate a good joke, either…”

Marvin nodded slowly, with wide eyes. “How you were sorted into Slytherin I simply cannot fathom,” he drawled, and Claus glared at him.

“Good,” he said, and that was the end of that.

Morten shook his head and pulled out his wand and a homework assignment; they had to write a three feet long essay to Professor Flitwick, discussing the Light-Changing charm and how to improve it. With a small smile, Morten got to work.

He couldn’t lie; he loved this. Utterly adored it. He’d learned so much, and the people were nice. The Hufflepuff Common Room was a calm and serene place, and at night, he slept better than he had in ages. Besides, the food was free! He would definitely come back here for his second year. Although, simply the feeling of magic moving around and within him would have been enough to keep him from going back to the forest.

The idea that he possessed and could wield magic… mind blowing. It was mind blowing, all of it, and Morten was perfectly happy where he was.

*

It was a bit stupid, Marvin could admit. It took the four of them two months before they realized that they had all but been plunged into a war, even though everyone tried to cover it up. Most of the students didn’t believe it, but Marvin was no fool and he could tell a lie from truth.

This… _Voldemort_ was back, alive and well, and one of his main targets was living at this very school. Claus and Marvin were living among his followers, and Marvin wanted nothing else but to nope the fuck out of there. Alas, he couldn’t.

Claus wouldn’t leave, Morten wouldn’t leave, and Sabby wouldn’t leave. The foolish mice didn’t _care_ about a Wizard War brewing in the distance! Perhaps they didn’t care because they thought they would not be involved, or because they thought that they could just go home again. But they were wrong, and Marvin knew it. Their magic was unlocked, it was flowing freely through their veins, and although they learned how to control it they would not learn how to lock it back in.

Once a wizard, always a wizard. That was the rules.

They were in this war, and they would be a part of it no matter what they wanted. On this, Marvin knew was right.

What he didn’t know, was that they would play a much larger role in the war than any of them thought.

*

Three figures were huddled together in front of the fireplace of their common room. They were discussing the first years in hushed voices. Well, not the first years in general. There were four in particular that had peeked their interest.

For this talk, the three figures had pushed away all irritation, all misunderstandings and all frustration that was between them, in favor of one common goal.

“I don’t trust them,” said Harry Potter.

Hermione Granger shook her head. “Neither do I. They are first years, but _obviously_ not eleven year olds.”

“The mice are alright, I guess,” muttered Ron Weasley. “That Hufflepuff girl- Ace, was it? Bumped into her in the hallway. Interesting sort. But the fox? He’s freaky.”

Harry nodded slowly. “He’s a Slytherin.”

“And so what?” Hermione huffed. “So is that Climber dude he hangs out with, but he’s obviously not fit for that house.”

“Why are they even friends?” wondered Ron, and proceeded to wonder about this while the two others continued their discussion.

“And such a strange way to appear, too,” Hermione mused, rubbing at her chin as she thought. “Suddenly, out of nowhere.”

“I vote we get to know them. They hang out together all the time,” Harry said, and Hermione nodded solemnly in agreement.

“I got it!” Ron exclaimed, a happy expression on his face. “They’re secretly dating, and everything’s fake! Right now they’re making plans to go steal a unicorn from the Forbidden Forest because their love is too pure for this world! They will then proceed to ride the unicorn to China, name it Bert, and marry each other under a mistletoe tree.”

Harry and Hermione stared. Ron’s happy expression fell a bit, and his shoulders sagged. “Alright, maybe I made up the mistletoe part… I dunno if they even grow in China. But the rest is totally happening!”

Silence.

“Right,” said Hermione.

“Sure,” Harry nodded.

Ron seemed proud of himself for coming to this conclusion.

*

It was a day in early December, and Sabby was studying in the library, when Hermione Granger came over. “Hi,” she said. “Mind if I sit down?”

Sabby smiled at her, and nodded. “Go ahead!”

There was a moment of silence while Hermione pulled out a chair and sat down. “I just wanted to say sorry, for how I acted on the train… it was stupid of me, I know, but I was just a bit… well, _unprepared_ ,” Hermione said, fiddling with a quill.

“No, it’s fine,” Sabby said, and her smile grew. She was apologizing! Hermione was apologizing, and to her, of all people! Maybe Gryffindors weren’t that bad? “We get that a lot, actually!”

Hermione blinked. “You do? Here, or… ah, where you come from?”

Sabby giggled. “Here, silly! Back at home everyone’s like us!”

“’Back at home’? Where _is_ home?” Hermione asked, and leaned forward on the table. There was a spark of interest in her eyes, and Sabby was happy to provide her with answers.

“The Huckybucky Forest. It’s way up in Norway, but if you came here to hear about the forest you should go find Claus. He knows _everyone_. I’m more of an outsider.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

Sabby halted a moment and tilted her head this way and that. How was she going to explain this? She couldn’t simply say that she lived on the farm, because Hermione wouldn’t know what that meant… “Well, at the outskirts of the forest, there’s a farm with a storehouse. I live in the storehouse, which is why my name is actually Sabrina the Storehouse Mouse.”

Now Hermione seemed to be even more puzzled... oh, how was Sabby ever going to be able to ex _plain_ everything? There was so much to know! “What, your last name isn’t Ace?”

“Nope!” Sabby replied. Even if she couldn’t explain things right, she could still answer questions. “I don’t know what it is. My parents never told me.”

“Huh,” said Hermione, and then a thick silence filled the air. Sabby didn’t care much for it; she was used to silence, but the human girl seemed to struggle to find words to fill it with. “So, uh… how is, how is Hufflepuff treating you?”

Sabby lit up. She was always ready to gush on and on about her friends, and her house, and the school, and her classes… “Oh, it’s great! Everyone’s so nice, and my friends are always ready to help with homework and any problems I might have!” Here, Sabby stopped to frown down at her parchment. “I’m a bit worried about Claus, though,” she muttered.

Hermione frowned, too. “Why?”

“Well, he’s just… so _obviously_ not a Slytherin. The Slyths are all so… cold, and mean, you know? Claus ain’t like that. He’s… nice, and warm, and funny. When he smiles, it’s not like he’s smirking or making fun of you. It’s more like… he tries to cheer you up, or something.” Sabby sighed and returned to staring glumly at her homework.

While Sabby had been talking, Hermione’s smile had grown wider and wider. “Someone’s got a crush, I take it?” she finally asked.

Sabby’s head snapped up and her eyes widened. “Wh-what?” She flushed heavily, her ears turning red under her fur. “No! No, no, no. Claus isn’t my type! If I should have a crush on anyone, it must be Morten, not Claus.”

“I know, I know,” Hermione soothed, even though she was giggling quietly. “I was just kidding. You were saying?”

Sabby huffed, but continued. “As I said, Claus is just not _fit_ for Slytherin. I’m not surprised that Marvin was sorted into that house, what with him being a fox and all, but… Claus is just a mouse, like me. And mice aren’t cut out for Slytherin.”

“I mean,” said Hermione, and leaned back in her chair with a contemplating expression. “The Sorting Hat decides, and it has never been wrong before. And you know, it doesn’t make its decisions based upon species. The deciding factors are personality traits.”

“I know,” Sabby hurried to say. “And- Marvin’s a _fox_. He _has_ the Slytherin traits. Claus is a _mouse_. Mice aren’t sly or cunning, not in the way foxes are.”

Hermione hummed, even as lines were cutting deep into her face. “Maybe he’s tricked you all into thinking that.”

“But that’s just it!” Sabby cried. “He’s not capable of doing that, because he’s a _mouse_!”

With a sigh, Hermione gathered her books and stood up. “You’re the animals, not me, so I guess you know more about this than I. Still. I think you should reconsider.”

Hermione left the library.

*

“Are you going to leave the castle for Christmas?” Claus asked. He was leaning against the doorframe of their Dorm, and felt utterly ridiculous next to the way too huge thing. Everything in this castle was too large for him, including his _bed_. He felt like an idiot wherever he went. It had even been hard to find clothes that fit and didn’t look completely idiotic.

So, he was currently wearing a shirt that was two sizes too large for him. It was the color of Marvin’s fur, and it had been the only one they could find, but Claus wouldn’t complain. He felt… well, safer, in a way, when he wore it.

“No idea,” Marvin said, and put down the book he had been reading. “What about you?”

Claus sighed and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. Marvin frowned with something that resembled worry, and sat up straighter in his bed, leaning his back against the wall behind it. “I’ve thought ‘bout it,” Claus said, as an answer to his question. He hesitated for approximately half a second, and then he climbed into Marvin’s bed, curling into a ball at the opposite side of the fox.

Marvin was staring at him, but that was understandable. While they’d grown closer the last few months, they’d never… well, they’d never acted a lot like friends, not really.  “And I don’t think so,” he said when he was finally in a comfortable position.

Marvin seemed to visibly shake himself, and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Why not?”

Claus sighed again, and started to fiddle with the hem of the orange shirt. “We’ve spent so much time getting used to life here, and I’m actually enjoying it a lot… but I’m afraid that if I leave, I will never come back.”

There was silence for a moment, where Claus stared into his lap and refused to speak. “What’s wrong with that?” Marvin asked after a while. “There’s a _war_ out there, Claus.”

“I know,” Claus muttered. Of course he knew, he wasn’t stupid, but… “But this is an opportunity I can’t pass up. Where else would I be able to learn magic as well as I do here?” He had a lot of mixed feelings about this, to be honest. He wanted to go back home, but he wanted to learn, too. “It’s _magic_ , Marvin,” Claus whispered. “It’s what I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid.” If they went back home – if _he_ went back home, nothing would be different. Nothing would have changed, and all the magic Claus would know would be the Levitating Charm.

He didn’t want that, but at the same time, he didn’t want this cold, bleary life, either. _Seven years_ of this would be a nightmare, and Claus wasn’t sure if he was able to get through it all. Not alone.

“I’ll stay,” Marvin said, and Claus’ head snapped up to look at him. “With you,” Marvin continued, and the previously solemn expression on his face turned fearful and worried. “Over Christmas. This year, I mean, uh-”

“Marvin,” Claus said, even as his chest clenched and he was smiling so widely that he thought his face might split any moment. “Shut up.”

 _Thank you_ , he thought. _Thank you, thank you, thank you._

Marvin shut up.

*

An angry mouse is a sight you never want to see, Morten found out an unfortunate evening, when Sabrina came rushing over to him in a frenzy. Her expression was angry, but her eyes were concerned, and Morten greeted her with a worried look. “What’s going on?” he asked quietly as she threw herself into one of the chairs in the Hufflepuff common room.

“You know that girl we met on the train?” Sabrina said, crossing her arms with a huff. “Hermione Granger?” When Morten nodded for her to continue, she did. “She just had the nerve to tell me that there’s a _reason_ to Claus being in Slytherin!”

Ah. This. To be honest, Morten had always… well, _known_ that something was _off_ about his friend, and that his ways of getting food weren’t always morally _right_. When he’d been sorted into Slytherin, it just served to prove it.

Still, Sabrina had always been a bit… oblivious. He knew that Claus had always been able to fool her, but he fooled everyone and Morten was sure that even he didn’t know it all. Claus was truly a sly bastard, but he was his friend, and they’d known each other since childhood. It wasn’t about to change now. “A _reason_?” Morten asked. _Claus, when all of this is done and in the past, you better damn well thank me._ “But Claus is nothing like them!”

“I _know_!” Sabrina groaned, throwing her paws into the air. “And then she prattled on about the Sorting Hat making decisions based on _personality_ and not _species_!” _Technically right,_ Morten thought, but didn’t interrupt. “But it’s just not Claus’ personality, right? He’s a mouse! Of course _Marvin_ was sorted into Slytherin, he’s a fox –not that I have anything against him- but Claus is a mouse!”

Morten nodded fiercely. “If anything, he should have been sorted into _Gryffindor_ ,” he said, and Sabrina nodded right back.

“And then she had the decency to say I was _crushing_ on him!”

A sinking sensation filled Morten at the thought of Sabrina crushing on Claus. Mostly because he didn’t want her hurt, and Claus wasn’t interested in her… but there was something else, too, something that gnawed away at him whenever he closed his eyes.

“I don’t, of course,” Sabrina continued, completely oblivious to Morten’s troubling thoughts. “He’s not my type, you are, and I told her so, but _still_ , she _said_ it, and argh! She just! Frustrates me so much! At the end of the conversation, she even said that _‘you’re the animals, not me, but you should reconsider.’_ Like? Who _says_ that?”

Morten had tuned her out the moment she’d said that he was her type. All the blood rushed to his ears, and all he could hear was his own breath. _He_ was Sabrina’s type? H-how?

Morten Woodmouse, Sabrina Ace’s type? Morten, the quiet, little gentlemouse that wanted no harm to fall on anyone?

Sabrina, the loud, happy, beautiful mouse that climbed on tall buildings and walked across the farm, right in front of Hannibal, all without a second thought?

 _Well_ , thought Morten, as a goofy grin spread over his muzzle. _That’s certainly something._

*

The Forbidden Forest was a beautiful place, and Marvin had figured this out during their second week at Hogwarts, when the call for cold dirt under his paws had become too much. After that, he came here once every week, just to have some time of peace and quiet.

Never at night, though. Never, ever. Morten had told them all about the creatures that roamed in there at night, and unless someone felt suicidal, they would have to be idiots to go out there at night.

And now Marvin was once more walking on the paths he’d memorized in three weeks. His paws were stuffed into his pockets, but he didn’t wear any scarf. His fur had just started to fluff up, with it being winter and all. Some girls and two guys had been staring dreamily at him a few days ago. It freaked him out. He’d rather have bad attention than… well, that kind of attention. Besides, he wasn’t interested in some furless human. No, what he wanted was-

“So this is where you are,” a voice spoke up, and Marvin spun around, immediately crouching down so he could brace himself against the ground with his fore paws. He was snarling, and his hackles raised. It hadn’t even fallen into his mind to draw his wand, but now he wanted to- in front of him stood a wizard. A frightened looking, dark-haired wizard with green eyes and glasses. Marvin’s gaze bounced up to his forehead and back down again.

“Harry Potter,” he muttered, and rose slowly. The other wizard was staring at him with wide eyes, but Marvin could see no wand and smell no deception. He meant no harm, at least not right now. “What do you want?”

Harry gave an awkward half-shrug. “Just talk,” he said. “How are you?”

Marvin stared. “Good,” he replied shortly. “At least I was, until someone interrupted me.”

Harry winced, and began to walk further down the path. Marvin continued to stare, but decided to humor the boy and follow him. “Sorry about that,” Harry said. “I thought you knew I were there.”

“Headwind,” Marvin grumbled, once more stuffing his paws into his pockets. “I couldn’t smell you. Should be more careful next time,” he added the last bit to himself, just low enough for a human’s ears to pick it up.

“You are aware that this is the Forbidden Forest, right?” Harry asked, after a short pause.

Marvin rolled his eyes. “Look like I care?”

“You could get detention,” Harry pointed out.

“Doesn’t matter,” Marvin said, shrugging. He could feel Harry’s eyes on him, but didn’t look up from the ground.

“…you miss your home.” It wasn’t a question, and Harry’s voice was softer than it should be.

Marvin huffed. “No,” he said.

“Oh,” said Harry. “Sorry.”

A few moments went pass, where all Marvin could hear were two sets of a heartbeat and the forest breathing around them. It all felt wrong, somehow, and Marvin sighed. “Fine. I miss home.”

Harry gave him a soft smile, and stopped right where he was. Pulling out his wand, he transfigured a stone into something vaguely resembling a chair. “Want to tell me about it?” he asked, and sat down on the chair-like item.

“Not really,” Marvin replied.

“Do it anyways,” Harry insisted, still smiling but this time with a glint in his eye.

And Marvin did.

*

You had never experienced true chaos unless you had been standing at the Hogsmeade train station at the beginning of Christmas break. “Bye Claus! Bye Marvin!” Sabby called, for the fifth time in as many minutes. She knew she was being irrational, and probably irritating, but frankly, she didn’t care. “Remember to write!” she said, as she leaped forward and engulfed Claus in a tight hug.

He laughed. “Of course! We’ll send an owl!”

And hadn’t _that_ been weird to find out, that humans used _owls_ to mail each other. It had been super weird, mostly because of their sizes, but when Sabby had tried talking to one it hadn’t answered. At all. It was… disconcerting, in a way, to see a wild animal acting like a domesticated one.

Sabby broke free from Claus and rushed over to Marvin, wrapping her arms around his waist. He chuckled and patted her head. “Take care, now,” he said.

“Of course,” Morten said from behind her, and Sabby let go of Marvin in favor of walking over to the only other mouse to go home for the holiday. When she turned around to wave at the two others one last time, Claus was smiling a wide, happy smile, and Marvin was grinning fondly, if such a thing is even possible.

“Say hi to Bernie Jr. for me,” Marvin said.

“Say hi to everyone from me!” Claus added.

“Yes, well… bye,” said Morten, and gave an awkward wave as Sabby pulled him towards the train.

“Bye Sabby! Bye Morten!” Claus called after them. “And Merry Christmas!”

*

With the two mice away for the holiday, Claus and Marvin soon had to find something else to do with their spare time. Homework was done soon enough, and after that, they were at a loss about what to do.

At some point around lunch time, the two animals found their way into the kitchens. They didn’t spend much time there together, but after Sabby had showed them the place Claus had declared it his favorite part of the castle, and he went there often.

“Hi, Dobby!” he called, as the House-Elf wandered over to them. The cheery creature waved with his one free hand, and passed over two cups of hot chocolate and a plate of gingerbread.

“For the two of yous, Claus, sir,” Dobby said in that squeaky voice of his.

“Thank you,” Claus replied, and stuffed two gingerbread men into his mouth at the same time. “Say hi to Wispy for me!”

When he turned back to his companion, Marvin was shaking his head. “What?” said Claus, around a mouthful of food.

“Give me some of those,” Marvin muttered, and grabbed a handful of the cookies. “Before you eat them all.”

Claus sniffed. “Rude,” he replied, and ate another gingerbread man.

“I rest my case.”

“Yeah, by the way, what happened between you and Drakey boy yesterday?”

Giving him a pointed look, Marvin hurried to grab the last gingerbread on the plate. “Now you’re changing the subject. Can’t you ever just enjoy your food?”

“Old habits die hard,” Claus shrugged. Marvin’s shoulders tensed for a moment, but then they softened up again. Claus pretended to not have noticed, because that’s the kind of friend he is. “Now spill it!”

“Fine,” Marvin sighed. “So you were hanging out with Hermione at the library-”

“More like I was cornered,” Claus grumbled.

“-and I was sitting in one of the chairs over at the windows. One with view of the Black Lake. I’m sitting there, minding my own business and knitting something –can’t remember what- when Draco Malfoy comes over. And he’s like, _‘are you knitting!?’_ so I tell him that, yes, I am, in fact, knitting, what does it look like? And he goes _‘why are you knitting, where did you learn that,_ ’ yelling it so loudly that everyone can hear. I say _‘where do you think I get clothes from, smartass?_ ’ and this is where you come in.”

“Wait, this is where Draco’s like, _‘ever heard of money before?_ ’”

Marvin nodded. “And I tell him that when you live in the forest you gotta do what you can to survive.’”

Claus nodded, too, clearly enjoying every moment of this. “Yeah! And that’s when he’s being a dick and goes _‘yeah, I almost forgot! You’re just a fox. Silly me._”

With a smirk, Marvin completed the story. “Then you punched him in the nose.”

Claus sunk into the chair and frowned. “Uh, yeah. I did.”

“Good job, by the way,” Marvin said. “He apparently had to go to Madam Pomfrey, Harry told me.”

Giving a mock gasp, Claus placed a paw on his chest. “My, my! A compliment? From _Marvin Fox_? This must be my lucky day!”

Rolling his eyes, Marvin slapped his arm. “Shut up.”

*

When they arrived at the Huckybucky Forest, Morten’s breath was sucked away in awe. They had been transported by a portkey, which had dropped them off right at the outskirts of the forest. Morten had never seen the forest from the outside and definitely not at winter. There was snow _every_ where! On the trees, on the ground, on the grass, in the sky…

Sabrina laughed and ran towards the trees. “Come on!” she yelled. “Let’s go find the others!”

Morten smiled, and ran after her. “Wait for me!”

The other animals greeted them with smiles and laughter. Morten was hugged by his Grandma, the Squirrel kids and Bernie Jr. all gathered around his legs and asked about magic, Horace carefully enquired about Marvin’s wellbeing, and Mister Hare had baked a cake for the occasion.

“Well? How are you and your girlfriend doing, Morten?” said Bernie, and everyone went silent.

“Uh,” said Morten. “Ah, we- we’re not-”

Sabrina interrupted him. “We’re fine! Hogwarts is amazing, and so are all the humans!” Morten’s eyes widened. Why didn’t she tell them that she wasn’t his girlfriend? Now everyone would think she was! “Oh! I almost forgot! Claus says hi to all of you!” Sabrina added, and the other animals smiled.

“Say hi back,” Bernard the Bakerboy said, and Sabrina nodded excitedly.

“A- and Marvin says hi to you, Bernie Jr,” Morten said, noting with an almost bitter joy how the young bear seemed to light up.

“But come on in!” Mrs. Bernie exclaimed. “You must tell us _everything_!”

*

A good night’s sleep, Marvin had learned, was not easy to get when sleeping in the same room as Claus Climbermouse.

“Wake up, Marvin! Wake up, wake up, wake up! We’ve got presents!”

Marvin groaned and rolled over, pulling his pillow over his head. “Go away,” he grumbled. “Let me sleeeeeeep…”

Claus laughed, and a few moment later Marvin felt something heavy settle on top of his back. Oh _Merlin_ , now he was _sitting_ on him! “Come on now, you grumpy old fox!”

“’m two years older than you, you goof!” Marvin’s reply was somewhat muffled by his pillow. “What’s the time?”

There was a pause. “ _Tempus,_ ” Claus intoned. “5.30!”

Marvin groaned again. “Fine,” he muttered. “Get off, I’m coming.” Claus rolled off him, and Marvin heard the hollow _thump_ when the mouse fell to the floor. “You okay?” he asked, sitting up in the bed and rubbing at his eyes.

“Fresh as a fish!” Claus exclaimed, as he bounced right up again.

Marvin stared, but decided to ignore the more than a little disconcerting statement. He could not, however, ignore- “…how are you already fully dressed?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Claus said, waving a paw. “Here, put on a shirt,” he added as he threw one of Marvin’s shirt at his face. “I’ve brought all the gifts into the common room!”

“Hey, wait now,” Marvin complained, as he pulled the piece of clothing away from his muzzle. “Are you wearing my shirt?”

Claus’ giggles disappeared out of the room, and with a grumble, Marvin pulled himself out of the bed. “Bloody mouse,” he muttered, as he put on the shirt.

A few minutes later, and he was walking into the common room. There were no one else but Claus there, so there must have been _something_ positive about getting up so early. With a fond shake of his head, Marvin made his way over to the chairs and couches in front of the fireplace. Claus was already sitting in the couch directly in front of the fireplace, and he’d pulled over a table to have the gifts on.

And there was, surprisingly enough, quite a lot of gifts.

“Come on, Marvin,” Claus said when he noticed him standing there. “Sit down, goddamnit.”

Marvin huffed, but walked over and sat down in the couch. And, well, if it was a bit closer to Claus than normal, then no one was there to witness it.

“Alright,” he murmured, and reached over to take a gift from the pile. Claus did the same. “Well, this one’s for you,” Marvin said. “From… Ron Weasly?”

“Huh,” said Claus, frowning slightly. “That’s weird. This one’s to you, from Hermione Granger.”

With a shrug, Marvin and Claus swapped gifts.

There was a pause, where the only sounds were the rustling of paper. “Well,” said Marvin. “A book. Why am I not surprised. It’s about…” His face turned blank as he read the name. “Foxes. It’s a book about red foxes.”

Claus snorted. “I got candy. Chocolate Frogs.”

And they continued like that. Both of them received gifts from Hermione, Ron, and Harry. Claus got, much to his delight, a book about mice from Hermione, and a book about magical instruments from Harry.

They also received gifts from Terry Boot, the Ravenclaw guy from the study group they were in, Hannah Abbot, Susan Bones, and of course, Sabby and Morten.

Then, in the end, there were only two gifts left. They both knew whom they were meant for, and whom they were from.

At some point during all of this, Claus had cuddled up to Marvin, so his head was now resting on his chest, and Marvin had wrapped an arm around his shoulders. It was surprisingly comfortable, and Marvin felt quite content like this, even though it was Most Unusual. He wasn’t about to complain. He didn’t _want_ to complain.

Marvin reached out and grabbed the gift he recognized, and Claus did the same. In silence, they swapped gifts, and Marvin drew a sharp breath when their paws brushed together.

Claus had carved out a running fox from a piece of white wood. Whether he had used magic or not, Marvin didn’t know, but he _did_ know that-

“Marvin,” Claus said, breaking the silence. “They’re beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Marvin said. “That.”

“Thank you,” Claus added, looking up from the pair of white mittens Marvin had knitted and meeting his gaze.

“That, too,” Marvin said dumbly.

Claus pulled on the mittens, and the silver crescent moons shone in the light from the fireplace. “Thank you,” he repeated, and leaned back into Marvin’s embrace.

Marvin released a shaky breath, and rested his cheek on top of Claus’ head. “Thank _you_ ,” he muttered.

*

“Thank you,” Morten said, for the fifteenth time in half an hour. It was obvious that he’d liked the gift she had gotten for him; a quill with a small, white handle and a golden feather.

Sabby laughed. “You’re welcome, Morten.”

They were sitting at a bench that had been placed at the end of a path; one which ended in a beautiful clearing. At this time, in winter, it was even more beautiful than ever before. “Sabrina,” Morten said after a short pause. “Back when Bernie called you my girlfriend… why didn’t you object?”

Sabby turned to look at him with a confused look. “Am I not your girlfriend?”

Morten blinked twice, and then he giggled. “Oh, Sabrina… you must be rubbing off on me.”

With a mocking huff, Sabby looked away from him “I certainly hope so,” she said, before her expression softened. “Do you mean to tell me that you don’t like me?” The thought sent icy shards of glass through her soul. “I thought- but I might be reading things wrong, I mean, I’m not good at this…”

Morten smiled fondly at her, reached out and put a mitten-covered paw on top of hers. “Sabrina, I love you,” he said, and his voice was only shaking a little. Sabby’s heart stuttered. Certainly, she had thought that he liked her, but _love_? She hadn’t been expecting that one. “With all my heart. I wish to spend the rest of my li- days by your- your sent- _side_.” He stumbled over the words in his nervousness, and Sabby smiled. It was adorable. “And if you glad to, I would want- no, wait, that’s wrong, too…”

Sabby giggled, and took his paw between hers. “Morten,” she said softly. “I’d love to.”

“Oh, thank God,” Morten breathed, and that was all he was able to say before Sabby closed the distance between them and kissed him.

*

There was something different about Morten and Sabby when they returned to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays. They exited the train while holding paws, and both of them seemed giddy and strangely happy. Not that it was strange that they were happy, it was just… a different kind of happy than they usually were.

Claus’ money was on that they’d finally hooked up. Maybe the endless torture of longing looks was over.

Maybe.

The Golden Trio came over, too, to greet the two of them and say welcome back. When Morten apologized for not having given them anything for Christmas, Hermione laughed and waved it away. “No worries,” she said. “We’re just happy you liked our gifts for you.”

Marvin barked a laugh. “Huh, yeah,” he said. “The book you gave me was very entertaining.” Claus had to cough into his paw to hide his laughter. That Marvin had managed to say it all with a straight face said something about how much he was improving in Slytherin.

“Good,” Hermione grinned. “Well, I hope you all have a good day. We’ll see you later!”

The four of them watched the humans walk away. Then Sabby turned to Morten and said, “Honey, I think they’re trying to befriend us.”

Morten laughed. “I’m afraid they already have, Sabrina.”

Claus silently agreed.

*

The Gryffindor common room was cozy enough, but it didn’t give Morten the same feeling of home as the Hufflepuff common room did. So much red color could be a bit overwhelming, you know, but Morten was a polite gentlemouse and didn’t comment it.

Sabrina and he had gotten quite a lot of odd looks when they’d entered together with three Gryffindors, but when Ron had glared at the most of them they’d let them be.

After that, the two of them came to visit once or twice every week. They never brought the two Slytherins into the Lion’s nest, but it was probably for the best. Marvin wasn’t that keen on visiting, anyways, and Claus just didn’t care. Besides, if the Gryffindors were unsure about having two small Hufflepuffs visiting, it would be outright unsafe for their friends to join them.

Hermione, Harry and Ron had quickly sewn a friendship with the two mice, and through them, Claus and Marvin. In the beginning, the three Gryffs had been a bit wary of two Slytherins, and vice versa, but they’d warmed up to each other. It wasn’t expected, but it wasn’t unwanted, either.

Today was one of the days where they’d been pulled into the common room, and Morten had a growing sense of queasiness that he hadn’t felt before. Whatever their three friends were about to tell them was something bad. Through all his years in the forest, Morten had learned to trust his gut feeling, and it hadn’t been wrong once.

“Have Claus told you what happened between Malfoy and him?” Harry said, breaking away from the Quidditch discussion he’d been having with Ron. None of the humans started at the sudden change of subject, so it must have been planned.

 _Claus and Malfoy?_ Oh. Oh no. This was what his gut was talking about.

As his queasiness morphed into dawning horror, Morten and Sabrina shared a look, and then shook their heads at the same time. Ron grinned. “He punched Malfoy in the face,” he said, sounding oddly proud of his friend.

Morten closed his eyes and gave a long suffering sigh. Sabrina, however, gasped and gave a shocked yell. “What!?” she cried.

Hermione rolled her eyes and threw up a privacy charm. “Why?” Morten asked. That was one of the most _stupid_ things Claus could do if he was trying to keep his cover from blowing. Stupid, stupid, stupid, _stupid_ mouse!

“Malfoy apparently offended Marvin or something,” Ron said.

Harry snorted, even though he’d probably heard this story a few thousand times already. “Serves him damn right, that pureblooded bastard,” he muttered, and Morten was reminded of their five-year long rivalry.

Morten had no doubts that Claus had punched the git, but Sabrina was shaking her head slowly in denial. “No,” she said. “No, Claus would never do that. Claus would never hurt someone.” Hermione raised an eyebrow that clearly screamed _why not?_ “He’s a mouse,” Sabrina tried to explain, but Hermione’s brow only rose further.

“Sabby,” Harry said, his soft voice trying to cushion the painful message he was getting across. “Would you hit someone?”

Sabrina stared at him as if he had grown another head. “Of- of course not!”

“What if someone offended you?” Hermione asked.

Sabrina shook her head silently, a stubborn expression on her face. Morten felt his heart sink. She had to realize the truth sometime, and when she did, it was going to hurt. His girlfriend was incredibly stubborn on some areas, her views on the world included. When they would be broken and shattered into pieces, it would tear her apart.

Morten would be there when that happened, though, and he would be ready to sew her back together.

“What if someone offended _Morten_?” Ron said, and Morten was forcefully brought back to reality.

“I-” Sabrina hesitated, and the stubborn expression crumbled as she realized what Ron meant. She looked down at her lap. “But- but Marvin isn’t to Claus what Morten is to me!” she defended herself, balling her paws into fists but refusing to look at any of them.

Ron’s eyes lit up and he leaned forward eagerly. “Are you sure?”

Uhm.

“Ron, not now,” Hermione said, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him back.

“What we’re trying to say,” Harry said, with a few pointed looks in Ron’s direction. The ginger muttered something under his breath and sunk back in his chair to sulk. “Is that it’s got nothing to do with species, just like it’s got nothing to do with gender or skin color.”

Sabrina’s paws tightened further around the hem of her skirt, and she drew a shaky breath. With a broken expression, she looked up at Morten. Something inside of him clenched, and he smiled a sad smile around the pain. “Do you really think he’s meant to be a Slytherin?” she whispered, and there were tears sparkling in her eyes.

Morten said nothing. He simply pulled her into a tight embrace, which she returned vigorously. “Yes,” he said, after a long silence. “Yes, I do.”

*

Some people don’t know when to quit, and one of those is Draco Malfoy. Marvin got to experience this first-hand when Draco had sought him and Claus out while they were walking by the lake. “I challenge you, Marvin Fox,” the wizard had cried, pointing his wand up into the air. “to a Wizarding Duel!”

Marvin blinked twice, and then proceeded to tilt his head and pretend to consider it. “Mm… nah,” he drawled, and turned to walk away.

Without missing a beat, Draco thrust his wand further up into the air. “Name your challenge, then, beast!”

Claus gave a small, surprised sound, and then he tugged at Marvin’s shirt. Immediately, Marvin went down on one knee so it would be easier for Claus to speak to him. “I don’t think you can refuse,” Claus muttered. “It sounds like the thing Hermione told me about.”

Closing his eyes and sighing, Marvin pinched the bridge of his nose. “What do you propose, then?”

Claus grinned.

A few moments later, and Draco was raising his eyebrows at them. “A… race?”

“Yeah,” Marvin said, crossing his arms. “Whoever’s the fastest wins.”

Draco hesitated for only a moment before his expression hardened with determination. “Very well,” he said. “A race it will be! We shall meet up again, in this exact spot, in thirty minutes. Choose your companion!”

Marvin tilted his head for a moment. He knew his companion, of course, but he couldn’t just blurt out the name, not when Draco sounded so formal. “I choose Claus Climbermouse as my companion,” he said slowly.

“I choose Blaise Zabini as my companion.” Draco nodded once. “Until we speak again, beast.”

“…until we speak again, human.”

Draco spun around and marched away. “Uh,” said Claus from Marvin’s elbow. “What, exactly, is a companion supposed to do?”

“No idea,” said Marvin. There was a pause. “…how fast can a human run?”

“No idea,” said Claus. There was a second pause. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.”

*

“Lumos.”

Claus wasn’t just… a mouse…

“ _Nox_.”

He was a Slytherin, and one that had deceived them all…

“Lumos.”

Or at least her.

“ _Nox_.”

Morten believed it to be true, and he knew Claus better than most.

“Lumos.”

Well, not Marvin. No one knew Claus better than Marvin.

“ _Nox_.”

It would certainly make sense of why they were friends.

“Lumos.”

But Claus was a mouse! Everything it implied was _there_! How in Bucky had he been able to get himself sorted into _Slytherin_?

_“Nox.”_

Well, what was so bad about being in Slytherin, though? Certainly, if Claus had been able to be sorted into that house…

_“Lumos.”_

What was the deal with all these houses, anyways? They could’ve just separated everyone by year instead of something a stupid hat told them.

“No-”

“Sabrina!” a voice interrupted her, and she looked up from the tip of her wand. The light faded away the moment she pulled her magic back into herself, but she ignored it in favor of taking in the person who was leaning against her doorframe and breathing heavily.

“…Morten?” Her boyfriend seemed almost panicked, and there was a crazy shine in his eyes. Now feeling more than a little worried, Sabby got up from the bed. “Morten, what’s wrong?”

“Draco just challenged Marvin to a race!”

“…and?”

“Claus is gonna run with him!”

Sabby ran for the door. This, she had to see. After almost half a year inside of the castle’s walls, she had memorized the hallways and could probably find her way out in her sleep. She didn’t have to think about where she ran; her muscles knew the way.

When her feet brought her outside, it was easy to find the spot for the race. Rumors traveled fast at Hogwarts, and since Draco Malfoy was the Slytherin Prince, half of the Slytherins had shown up. And since Marvin was, well. _Marvin Fox_ , first fox ever to attend Hogwarts, half the _school_ had shown up.

Sabby came to an abrupt halt when she had good enough view. A few seconds later, a panting Morten came to a stop next to her. “Oh,” he breathed. “Wh- we just made it…”

He took a moment to lean on his knees and wheeze at the ground.

Sabby ignored him in favor of staring at Claus and Marvin interacting. After so long among humans, she had learned that they had learned completely different things while growing up; while they had studied math, she had learned to recognize different sort of body language for different sort of animals.

She knew there were only a few people who would realize that Marvin was nervous. He looked completely calm and at ease, and he could have fooled her, had it not been for the way his ears weren’t moving or the fact that his tail was swaying from side to side.

He was speaking calmly with Claus, and there was a small smile on his face. Claus was grinning, as he always was, and it was obvious that he was comforting Marvin by simply being there.

“Huh,” Sabby uttered, and Morten, who had been in the middle of a rant, froze.

“What?”

“A sly mouse,” she said. “Who would have thought.”

She was smiling as her two friends entered the racing area and prepared to start running.

*

“READY!”

“Not really,” Marvin muttered, and Claus rolled his eyes.

“You can do this. Remember what we talked about; down on all fours!”

“ _SET!_ ” the voice continued.

“Yes, yes,” Marvin grumbled. “We’re fastest like that. Don’t rush ahead of me, now.”

“GO!”

Four figures started running, two of them taking off in a blur. They were supposed to cover 250 meters, and Claus had no idea if they’d be able to do it. He just ran, and after the three first steps, he threw himself at the ground and continued like that.

None of the animals in the forest really ran like that anymore –with the exception of Horace the Hedgehog-, but it was certainly much faster than running on two.

There was a kind of freedom in it, Claus thought to himself as his paws pushed off against the ground. Just running, not needing to think, but just… run. Just keep on moving, never stopping, always being on the move.

Marvin was keeping a good speed next to him, a red blur of movement and muscles working for his dear life. Suddenly, he let out a howl of joy, and Claus added his own whoop and a burst of laughter.

In that moment, nothing else mattered but him and Marvin running side by side, the sun reflecting in Marvin’s red fur and the joy of being free, the joy of feeling the wind whipping at his face and messing up his fur.

It was as if time stopped, in that short moment where they were just existing side by side-

And then they crossed the finishing line, Claus stumbled in a root and went crashing into Marvin, and the both of them fell to a heap on the ground. A laughing heap on the ground, fine, but a heap nonetheless.

“Oh, that was great!” Claus laughed, not bothering to try to untangle himself from Marvin. None of them had cared whether they won or not, but they obviously had- they’d crossed 250 meters in less than half a minute, and Draco and Blaise were barely half-way.

“Hah, yeah,” Marvin grinned, a bit breathless after just giving everything he had. “I haven’t had a good run since-” He broke off, but Claus knew what he was talking about.

He smiled a small, fond smile, and shuffled around until he was laying on top of the fox, resting his elbows on his chest. “Since we left,” Claus said softly. “Yeah. I know.”

“I’m sorry,” Marvin whispered. He sounded almost broken as he slowly sat up. “I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine,” Claus smiled. “As I’ve told you a thousand times: there’s nothing to forgive.”

Marvin searched his gaze for a few moments, and then he sighed and closed his eyes. “Fine.” Then he tilted his head, and his eyes snapped open. “Wait, are they cheering?”

Claus listened, and stood up slowly. “They are,” he said. And yes, their audience was, in fact, cheering. There were whistles and applause and screaming coming from all the people watching, and then suddenly, Ron was running towards them.

“That was sick, mate!” he hollered, and when he came close enough, he slapped Marvin’s back.

Marvin grinned. “Thanks,” he said, pretending that it hadn’t gotten to him. But Claus knew him, and knew about his nightmares, and could see beneath the mask everyone else saw.

Marvin was happy.

“I had no idea foxes could run that fast,” Hermione said in astonishment when she found her way over. “I mean, I knew it of course, I’ve read a lot about you-”

“Of course you have,” Ron, Marvin and Claus intoned at the same time.

“-but I didn’t think…”

Draco and Blaise came jogging over the finish line. Blaise threw both Draco and Marvin a dirty look, and then he had disappeared in among the people who had witnessed the race. “Congratulations,” Draco sniffed. “You win for now, beasts.”

Claus gave him a thumbs up, and Draco glared at him.

Then he was gone, too.

“Wow, Marvin,” said the voice of Morten. “Why didn’t you ever run like that whenever you chased after Claus?”

Claus and Marvin shared a look, and then Claus leaned over to whisper dramatically. “ _It was all a game_ ,” he hissed loudly, and Marvin coughed something that sounded suspiciously like ‘ _and I won_ ’. Claus turned to glare at him. “You wish,” he said, and Marvin grinned.

Then Sabby burst into hysterical laughter, much to the confusion of Harry, who had just arrived. “O- oh,” she gasped through the bouts of giggles. “You truly are meant for Slytherin!”

Claus’ whole world froze for a few moments. That one wasn’t expected. Marvin, apparently realizing that Claus’ brain was having a temporary shut-down, placed a paw on his shoulder. “Just like you are truly meant for Hufflepuff,” he said with a grin.

Claus looked up at the fox that was twice his height, and didn’t even try and hide the smile that was nearly splitting his face in two. There were definitely going to be political changes now, because of this, but Claus couldn’t bring himself to care. Not now, with all his closest friends surrounding him and chatting about whatever they felt inclined to chat about.

Marvin still hadn’t moved his paw, Claus realized, and reached up to cover it with his. Alright, fine, maybe not cover it, but he put his paw on top of Marvin’s paw and squeezed. It was a small, pathetic thank you, but it was a thank you nonetheless. A thank you for the friendship, for the safety, the comfort and support that Marvin gave him.

As if he could sense Claus thinking about him, Marvin looked down and met Claus’ smile with one of his own. He winked, and Claus’ smile widened further. He leaned into Marvin’s side, and Marvin answered by shifting his grasp on Claus’ shoulder slightly- an indication that he would always be there.

 _Thank you_ , Claus thought, and closed his eyes. _Thank you._

_*_

There was something warm settling in the pit of Morten’s stomach whenever he watched the participants of their group interact with each other, when all of them were gathered in once place. Now one Luna Lovegood had joined them, signaling them being able to have friends across the whole school.

“How many languages do you know, then?” Hermione asked Claus, who she had been discussing different learning strategies with.

This attracted Morten’s attention, as he had always been curious about that. He turned to look at Claus, and so did everyone else. Well, not Luna. She was sitting on the floor, at Harry’s feet, and was braiding flowers. “Well,” Claus said, cocking his head. “I know mouse, obviously, fox, hedgehog, snake, English, and Norwegian.”

Ron, who had been chugging down a cup of pumpkin juice, turned away and sprayed liquid all over the floor.

 _“You speak fox?”_ Marvin asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Only when the humans stared blankly at them did Morten realize they were speaking mouse.

“ _I see you speak a language you’re not supposed to speak, too,_ ” Claus chattered drily, and Marvin scowled.

“ _Har har_.”

“Uhm,” said Ron. “What’s going on?”

“They’re speaking mouse and being sarcastic about it,” Sabrina supplied, and Luna smiled as if she’d known all along.

Morten sighed, and decided to elaborate. “Marvin is surprised that Claus speaks fox, and Claus is in turn ‘shocked’ that Marvin speaks mouse. It’s not very usual to know languages other than the ones of your species, Norwegian and English.”

“Why English?” Hermione asked.

“It’s an international language,” Sabrina said.

“ _Speak English, will you?”_ Morten snapped at the two others, who were casually discussing God-knows-what.

They both flushed and turned back to the group. “Sorry,” they said simultaneously.

Harry leaned forward in his chair with an interested expression. “But if it’s not usual to know that many languages, why do you?”

Claus shrugged. “Ma taught me, before she died, that the more you know the better you’re off. Some species struggle with learning other languages, so it’s good to know some of the most basic ways to speak, just in case.”

Marvin added, “And it’s common to pick up stuff here and there when you live in close proximity to other animals, like we do. Cue Claus speaking hedgehog.” Morten nodded even though no one was looking at him.

“Personally, I know a little bit of squirrel and hare, and I can manage a very poor crow. Although bird in general is really hard for anyone not a bird; the sounds aren’t easy to mimic,” said Morten, and Harry stared at him for a moment.

Then suddenly, he hissed. Hermione and Ron both flinched, while Luna simply hummed quietly for herself.

When Claus hissed back, Hermione gasped loudly and Ron paled drastically. Even Luna looked up from her braiding to stare at him.

“Blimey,” Ron muttered.

“What?” Claus asked, with an affronted look. “I know snake isn’t that common, but it was the first other animal language I learned!”

“ _Learned_?” Harry’s eyes widened. “It’s- it’s not supposed to be possible to learn Parselmouth!”

“I know some simple snake,” Sabrina said. “There was a mother living in the storehouse once, and she taught me the language to be able to communicate.” A sad look took over her expression. “I miss her, sometimes. Hannibal is brutal.”

An agreeing shudder went through the animals gathered around the table.

“You can control snakes, right, Harry?” Hermione asked, and when Harry nodded confusedly, she steeled herself, whipped out her wand and intoned, “ _Serpensortia!”_

Morten scrambled out of his chair when a thick, black snake suddenly was coiled on top of the table. She blinked sleepily at them, and immediately zoomed in on Claus and Sabrina. “Speak to it,” Hermione said, and looked at Claus.

Claus shot her a confused look, but hissed at the snake. She blinked again, and some of the sleep lifted from her eyes as she hissed back. Then Harry hissed at her, and she spun around to hiss at him. Sabrina interrupted now, with a short hiss, and the snake turned to her. The four of them proceeded to have a five minutes long conversation in snake, and in the end, Morten had to admit he was impressed. Snake was a hard language to learn, particularly because it took such a long time to get the pronunciations right, and it could take up to many years to learn it if your teacher was a snake themselves.

After they finished their conversation with the snake, Hermione vanished it and shared horror-stricken looks with Harry and Ron.

“What?” said Morten, taking a step closer to Sabrina and taking her paw in his. He didn’t like the thought that she might be in trouble. “What’s wrong?”

“Humans can’t learn snake,” Luna’s airy voice cut in, and suddenly all attention was on her. She didn’t seem to care, as she only continued with her braiding. “It’s impossible for them. There’s a genetic trait, however, that can be passed on through blood, which gives them the ability to speak it,” she explained. “But it’s very rare. The last human who was a Parselmouth –one who harbors the genetic trait- was called Lord Voldemort.”

Silence fell in the room, as Marvin and Claus exchanged looks. Morten had a vague idea about who this Lord Voldemort was, but he hadn’t heard much about him and people tended to shy away of the subject.

“Question,” Sabrina said, raising her paw. “Who’s Lord Voldemort?”

“Oh,” Luna said with a smile. “Only the most evil wizard to ever walk on Earth.” With that, she hummed, stood up from the ground, and placed the braided flowers on top of Marvin’s head. “There,” she said. “Now your courtship can begin.”

Harry sighed, rubbed his face and knocked his glasses askew, and launched headlong into the explanation of what, exactly, the lightning scar on his forehead meant.

At the end of the monologue, Morten was sitting on the floor with Sabrina in his arms. She was shaking like a leaf, clutching his shirt in her paws and whining quietly through her teeth. “ _It’s fine_ ,” Morten whispered, a soft chattering that appeared to calm her down, if only slightly. “ _It’s fine. He’s not here. He won’t hurt you_.”

“ _He’s still hurting people,”_ Sabrina whispered back, and it was muffled by his chest.

 _“I know, darling,”_ Morten sighed _. “There’s not much we can do about it.”_

Something else was probably going on in the room, but Morten didn’t care about anything else than the fragile yet strong mouse he had on his lap. “ _We can fight_ ,” she muttered hopefully after a pause.

Morten placed his paws on her shoulders and pushed gently, causing her to pull away from his chest and look into his eyes. He cupped her cheeks, gently searching her gaze as he brushed away some tears with his thumbs. “ _Is this what you want?”_ he asked quietly, and Sabrina nodded. “ _Fine_ ,” he said, pressing their foreheads together and letting their breaths become one. “Then we will fight.” He realized, too late, that he had said it in English, but he couldn’t back off now.

He tilted his head and pressed his lips to Sabrina’s in a soft kiss. “ _I love you_ ,” he whispered, and she clung to him as if her life depended on it.

*

In early March, the pranks began. One morning, Marvin woke up with pink fur, much to Claus’ amusement. A week later, and Claus’ fur turned purple, much to his delight. This was quickly followed by their books suddenly deciding to dance away from them (which caused the two of them, half of Hufflepuff and a few Gryffindors to chase the books around the castle), fake wands dissolving into smoke when they tried to use them, and voices sounding like an elephant on helium.

Marvin wasn’t sure if he was supposed to be horrified or deeply amused, so he settled for a mix. After Claus and he had talked about it, they decided to ask the Gryffindor Trio if they knew who could be doing this.

Hermione sighed when they asked, while Ron started to snicker uncontrollably. “I’m so sorry,” Harry said, and grinned. “It’s the Weasley twins, Fred and George. They’re seventh years.”

Marvin and Claus exchanged a look, and smirked.

The next morning, during breakfast, Fred Weasley’s hair suddenly turned into snakes, and the nearest muggleborns shrieked and dove for cover while crying something about medicine usages. George Weasley’s robes turned green, as did his hair, his tie, and his socks. While this might not seem as serious as the snakes, any clothes he would put on for the next week would take the same awful green color.

The two twins stared at each other. “My dear brother,” George said mournfully.

“I do believe-”

“-that we have been pranked.”

They grinned widely, and George trotted over to the Slytherin table and sat down. Fred turned to Harry and began to pester him with “What’re they saying, Harry?”

Harry, who had developed a tick in his left eye, slowly turned his head and stared straight at Marvin and Claus, who were doing their best at appearing innocent.

Then a squeak from Claus signaled that his robes had begun to change, rapidly shifting between colors like golden, bright pink and emerald green. Marvin snorted into his pumpkin juice. “This means war!” Claus yelled.

Fred Weasley laughed, as George replied from just down the table. “Bring it on!”

*

After the Golden Trio figured out that they were definitely on their side of the war, Harry had invited them to join the DA- Dumbledore’s Army. Sabby came to every meeting, and Morten came with her –unless he had some homework to do. He had been unsure, at the beginning, about breaking so many rules… but Sabby had pestered him about it and he had finally given in.

Claus almost never came, but every now and then, he would show up, just as cheery as ever, with a brooding Marvin in tow.

This was one of the days where Harry had told them to repeat the spells they already knew, and Morten had thrown himself into the exercise with a wide smile. Sabby’s gaze followed his every move, and she grinned. There was something about the way he transformed into a warrior, with magic surging around him like a dust storm, that caused her to fall even deeper in love with him. His eyes were shining as if he was in a fever, but he held himself somewhat higher than normal as he spun and ducked and threw around curses. He was smiling. The gentlemouse had turned into a warrior, and he loved it.

Sabby stared, frozen in place, and a feeling almost like a coil ready to spring settled in her stomach, as a deep, dark part of her recognized him as a powerful mate. She blushed heavily and spun away from the sight, facing a practice dummy instead.

She whipped out her wand, casting charm after curse after hex, light ones and dark ones and ones she didn’t know the affinity to.

And in that moment, Sabby lost herself. In that moment, she was magic. In that moment, she was freedom, and she was chaos, and she was love. In that moment, she _was_.

And she loved it.

(Discussions with Morten about kittens could be brought up later.)

*

“What do you think would happen if we were to become animagi?” Claus asked Marvin one evening. Marvin stared at him for a moment, and then sighed while tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling.

“Where does all these thoughts come from?” he wondered aloud.

“Do you think we’d turn into humans?” Claus pondered, cocking his head and frowning in deep thought. “Or do you think we’d receive a domesticated animal form?” That was what they’d taken to calling them, animals that were tiny and didn’t speak but weren’t actually tame.

“I reckon that you should shut up,” Marvin informed him, but Claus’ frown only grew. “Please don’t tell me you’re seriously considering it.”

Claus hopped off the bench and started to walk towards the Gryffindor table. “Imma go talk to Hermione,” he called over his shoulder, and thought that he could hear a distinct groan and the sound of someone hitting their head against a wooden surface.

“Hey, Hermione!” he called, when he reached the table of the Lions.

“…Hello, Claus,” Hermione replied as he scooted over to make space. Claus jumped, crawled a bit and then rolled over on his side so he could sit up. “Not to be mean or anything, but why are you here?”

It was a reasonably question. Luna floated between tables, and Morten and Sabby sometimes came to eat over at the Gryffindors, but never ever did the Slytherins come to the Gryffindor table, or vice versa.

“I was wondering,” said Claus, and helped himself to a portion of mashed potatoes. “If I were to become an animagus, what would happen?”

Hermione hummed, and leaned away from the table with a thoughtful expression. “To find that out,” she muttered to herself, ignoring the wary looks Harry was shooting her. Ron was too engulfed in his food to notice anything, really, and he hadn’t even commented when Claus sat down opposite of him. “We have to find out how the animagus transformation _works_. What it’s built up of, what it _does_.”

“But,” Harry interrupted, a clear expression of confusion on his face. “We know what it does. It turns the caster into an animal, the name even tells us that!”

“No, Harry,” Hermione said. “That’s what it does for a _human_. Has anything else ever tried the animagus transformation? A centaur, perhaps, or a vampire. Maybe even a werewolf? And what about house-elves, maybe there’s been a house elf who’s tried. We just don’t know for sure, and we don’t know what it does to the caster if they’re not a human.”

Claus rubbed his temples. “Too much words,” he complained. “It sounds dangerous.”

“Everything about the animagus transformation is dangerous,” Hermione said.

Claus’ skeptical expression melted away, and in its place came a grin. “I’m in,” he said, and Hermione shot up from the bench.

“Come on,” she said, grabbing his paw and pulling him up. “We’re going to the library.”

“W- wait, what?” Claus cried as Hermione all but ran out of the doors to the Great Hall. He nearly tripped in his own feet, but managed to stay upright.

“Good luck!” Harry yelled after them.

Claus threw a desperate look over his shoulder, but no one seemed inclined to help him. “Just perfect,” he muttered. “Glorious. And me, who thought I’d finally get to explore the forest.”

“Not today,” Hermione said. “Come now, we’ll build a fortress while we read.”

Claus whimpered.

*

His heartbeat stuttered, and then bet once, and twice. “W-what?” Morten whispered. “You think- you want me- I’m your-”

“Mate, yes,” Sabrina said, and nodded her head. She had sat him down in the Hufflepuff common room, taken his paw in hers, and told him in a quiet, soft voice.

“But- me?” Morten squeaked. “Why not- Claus, or- or someone else?”

Sabrina smiled softly, as if Morten was being silly. Well, he wasn’t, it was a completely logical thought. Your mate was chosen upon whether they could be a good parent and produce healthy offspring or not. “Because you’re a strong, independent mouse that will hold the world on your shoulders if I asked you to. Because you love me.”

“We’re mates?” Morten asked, feeling as if he was floating in the sky. Although he was a bit bewildered, to be honest… he had a mate? A _mate_? It wasn’t rare, per se, and there was no need to be romantically involved with a mate, so he’d almost expected Sabrina to choose Claus as her mate, but Morten as her partner.

Through all his life he’d expected to die surrounded by friends, but no children. The thought of a mate was a painful one that he’d rather not nurse, but… Sabrina, _his_ mate?

Sabrina giggled. “Yeah, well, obviously not yet, since we haven’t actually, you know. Done anything.”

“Yes, I… I see,” Morten trailed off, leaning backwards in the chair. He released a shaky laugh. “Mates,” he said. “Wow, I… it’s such an old-fashioned way to look at things, but…”

“You’re not- you’re not mad, that I brought it up, are you? If you don’t want us to be old-fashioned that’s super fine, too, I just wanted to inform you…”

Morten laughed. “I’m not mad, dear,” he said, and smiled. “I’m really, really happy. In case you haven’t noticed, I _am_ an old-fashioned mouse.”

Sabrina still looked a bit unsure, and she worried her lower lip for a moment. “So,” she said, slowly. “Do you… do you accept?”

Again, Morten laughed, but this time it was more warm than light-headed. He got up from his char and went over to her chair, where he sat down in front of her. “There was never a question,” he told her, and leaned up to kiss her softly.

She smiled into the kiss, and slid out of the chair to sit next to him. “I love you,” she whispered, when they broke apart, and that was the first time she spoke those words and meant it.

*

Alright, so Marvin hadn’t seen Claus since dinner, when Hermione had dragged him off, and now it was nearing curfew. Were they still in the library? “Goddamnit all if he’s somewhere else,” Marvin muttered, as he stomped up the staircases from the dungeons and made his way towards the library.

When he pushed the doors open, it wasn’t hard to find where Hermione and Claus were.

“Uhm,” said Marvin, as he took in the scene in front of him. Hermione had claimed a whole table for the two of them, and there were books and parchment and quills scattered around everywhere. Hermione was furiously skimming through a thick tome, while Claus was hunched over slightly thinner book. His eyes were barely moving, and his hair was untidy as fuck.

At the sound of his voice, Claus’ head snapped up to stare at him with wide eyes. “Marvin,” he gasped, and with that he shot up from the chair and hurried over to him. “Take me away from her,” he whispered. “She’s mad. Utterly bonkers. We’ve been sitting here the whole day. For the sake of my sanity, for the sake of what’s left in me that’s pure, _please take me back to the Dorm_!”

“…alright, then,” Marvin said loudly, in a high-pitched tone, as he pulled Claus closer to him. “Uh, Hermione, I think we’re done here.”

“I haven’t studied hard enough yet,” Hermione grumbled, flipping another page. “That Umbridge woman manages to step on all of my nerves at the same time and I’ve forgotten all about studying thanks to you, and the DA, and Dumbledore disappearing and _everything_. The OWL’s are right ‘round the corner and I _cannot stop now_.”

Marvin stared, and then slowly tipped his head down to whisper, “Has she been like this the whole day?”

Claus looked up at him with terrified eyes and nodded hastily. “We need to go. Now. She’s taken to calling me Ron and telling me that I must study more for the OWL’s. Which, might I remind you, I’m not taking! Move, before she realizes what you said!”

“Must study,” Hermione groaned. “Ron, have you done your Transfiguration assignment?”

Marvin grabbed Claus’ paw and ran.

*

“Alright now,” Harry said, adjusting Morten’s grip slightly. “There. Now, I’m not sure if I should consider you a first year or not –I have no idea how large or developed your magical core is-, but it won’t harm you to try.”

Morten nodded hastily when he realized that Harry wanted an answer. “Okay,” he whispered, feeling the six pair of eyes on himself.

“Now, think about a happy memory. Your _happiest_ memory, Morten, just anything happy won’t work!”

Morten nodded again, and considered what might be his happiest memory. A picture of Sabrina and him sitting on a bench in the middle of winter. Yes, that might work. “Yes, alright… ah, _Expecto Patronum!”_

A silvery wisp shot out of the tip of his wand, floating around him like fog. “Oh,” Morten breathed, dropping his arm in awe.

The wisp faded out again. “Not bad,” said Harry, and smiled. “Not bad at all. Try one more time, with more power.”

Morten nodded with an agreeing sound, and held out his wand. He focused, thought about dark golden eyes and a flash of red hair, the feeling of pride and love, the feeling of flying high, high up above Earth. “ _Expecto Patronum!_ ”

The silvery wisp shot out of the tip of his wand again, but with much more force than last time. And out of the fog came a mouse, and it danced around Morten as if it was happy he had brought it to life. “ _Oh_ ,” Morten breathed, with a smile.

“Cliché,” Marvin coughed, and the mouse disappeared.

“Actually, no,” Harry said, grinning widely at Morten. “How your patronus takes form depends a lot on what the happy memory is, or where it comes from. It’s known that when you love someone dearly, your patronus will take the form of their patronus, too. In your case, however… it might as well be taking the form of the species.”

Morten blushed, but smiled happily. That was certainly something.

“Interesting,” said Claus in a high-pitched tone, and tucked away his wand.

“Huh,” said Sabrina, who’d been watching everything with interest. “ _Expecto Patronum!”_

A pale beaver appeared, accompanied by some of the silvery fog.

Sabrina’s face fell drastically. “…what?” she whispered. “But- I don’t even know any beavers?”

Hermione frowned and entered their conversation. “Well… what did you think about?”

“Morten!” Sabrina replied, and her voice was growing more panicked by the minute. “I thought about Morten, and I do love him, I’ve never felt like this about anyone ever before!” She stared at the beaver that was now approaching her slowly, with a mournful look. “I love him,” Sabrina whispered, and the fear in her voice tugged at Morten’s heart. “What’s _wrong_ with me?”

Suddenly, Hermione lit up and grabbed Harry’s shoulder. “Harry,” she hissed. “Harry, is it _romantic_ love, or just love in general?”

Harry seemed puzzled, but frowned and thought about it. “Romantic,” he finally replied. “I don’t think other kinds of love copies a loved one’s patronus.”

Sabrina sunk to the floor, and finally the beaver disappeared. “What?” she whispered. “But I- I _do_ love him, I do!”

Morten walked over to her, slowly, so he wouldn’t startle her. “ _I know_ ,” he chattered softly as he sat down next to her. “ _I trust you_.”

“Sabby,” Hermione said, exchanging a glance with Harry. “You probably do love him, but… more in a… well, _platonic_ way. Like family, perhaps. Love is shifty, you know. Not everything’s in black and white.”

There were tears in Sabrina’s eyes now, and Morten was scared.

What did this mean? He trusted that Sabrina loved him, especially when she said so herself, but… what if she didn’t love him like he loved her?

“Have you heard about being aromantic, Sabby?” Hermione asked, her voice soft as she knelt down on the floor in front of the mouse. When she shook her head, Hermione smiled a sad smile. “It means that you’re not able to fall in love, or that you don’t have the desperate need to find someone to share romantic feelings with.” When Sabrina opened her mouth, Hermione cut her off with a stern, “It does _not_ mean that you are broken. And if you want it to work, your relationship _will_. You seem like a person that doesn’t easily give up.”

Slowly, Sabrina turned her head to face Morten. “I- I don’t love you like you love me, it seems,” she whispered, and Morten bit his lip but squeezed her paw reassuringly. “If you- if you want to break up with me, that’s fine. I won’t stop you.”

“No!” Morten yelped, pulling Sabrina closer. “I- I want this to work,” he said, when they were mere inches apart. “I don’t want to lose what we have.”

“But,” Sabrina begun. “It’s not before, is it? I love you, but not the right way, apparently.”

“There’s no right or wrong love, Sabrina,” Morten whispered, staring into her golden eyes while desperately trying to get her to understand. “As long as this is what you want, as long as this is what you’re comfortable with.”

“ _Everything_ ,” Sabrina breathed. “ _Everything_ up to now has been wonderful. I don’t want it to stop. I’ve been comfortable this whole time, and it won’t stop now. I- I don’t want things to change.”

Morten released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding, and then he pulled Sabrina into a tight hug. “Then things won’t,” he whispered fiercely, tightening his hold on her. “I promise they won’t, Sabrina.”

“I love you,” Sabrina muttered into his shoulder, and Morten knew it was true.

*

The OWL’s. A perfect day to get away from all your fifth year friends if you wanted to be alone for some time.

Claus, who was starting to feel a bit twitchy about all the people around him at all times –Marvin and he hadn’t been in the forest for a while- grabbed that chance and ran with it.

Well, not _literally_ ran. He just jogged, all the way over campus and into the Forbidden Forest.

He… kind of wished that Marvin had joined him, now that he were here. But he’d been eating up all of Marvin’s free time, and he deserved some now.

And with that ~~kind of depressing~~ thought, Claus raised his wand and began to practice.

*

Since they were such good, loyal friends, Sabby and Morten had decided that they would sit outside of the Main Hall and wait for their friends to complete their OWL’s. They’d been sitting out there for some five minutes, now, and Morten had just pulled out a deck of cards to pass the time.

Then a loud, heavy thump echoed through the hall. Sabby frowned, and looked at Morten. He shrugged. Another thump, this time louder.

The doors to the Main Hall opened, and Professor Umbridge came out of them. She noticed the two mice sitting on the floor and raised an eyebrow at them.

Sabby shrugged, while Morten shook his head.

A golden spark appeared, then, and fluttered a bit in front of Umbridge’s face before flying into the Hall and exploding in firework.

There was complete silence for a few seconds, then suddenly, Fred and George Weasley whizzed past them on two brooms. “Heya, Professor!” one of them called as they flew over their heads.

Sabby jumped to her feet and dashed into the Hall, just in time to see the whole room erupt into fireworks.

She laughed, watching all the colors and sizes and shapes. Morten came up to her and grinned as they saw Draco and his gang be tormented.

Then there was a massive explosion, and a large dragon’s head came out of nowhere.

Sabby’s eyes widened in awe, and she drew a sharp breath. It was all so chaotic, so lovely, so masterfully planned and executed.

But then the dragon opened its large jaws and rushed towards Professor Umbridge, and with her, Sabby. Morten grabbed her paw, jumped out of the dragon’s path and pulled her with him. He threw himself down at the floor just outside the doors, and Sabby stumbled and fell next to him as Professor Umbridge came running out of the door.

The dragon shut its jaws, and thousands of sparks shot up from it.

Sabby heard the breaking of glass before she saw it, and apparently Morten did, too.

“ _Protego!”_ he cried, throwing an arm around Sabby and pulling her closer so she’d be under the shield.

Feeling a flash of panic, Sabby turned her face and screwed her eyes shut. She could hear the glass breaking all around them, and the tell-tale _sing_ that came whenever something hit the pale blue sphere protecting them.

Then Morten gasped, and Sabby felt him increase the power behind the Protego. For a moment she wondered why, but then she heard the sound of something heavy smacking into the stone floors.

The wooden frames of the decrees, then.

A moment later it stopped, and Morten cancelled the Protego.

Sabby pulled herself to her feet, and then helped Morten get up, too. He was pale beneath his fur, and when Sabby grabbed his paw with a heartfelt _thank you_ , he was shaking.

Then the fifth year students came pouring out of the Hall, cheering and laughing. Morten yelped and pushed the both of them over to the wall. There they stood, pressed up flat against the wall, until all the students had gone out to watch whatever the Weasley Twins were doing now.

Sabby’s fear had already diminished, and the first moment possible she followed her fellow students outside.

Morten was by her side in a flash, grabbing her paw and leading her through the chaos. Somehow they ended up next to Harry, Hermione and Ron.

When Sabby raised her gaze, she saw a large, golden ‘W’ in the sky, and the Weasley twins floating at the side.

That was when Harry’s knees collapsed and he sunk to the ground. Sabby gasped and hurried over to him. “Harry?” she asked, quietly, and put a paw on his cheek. It was hot, too hot for a human, and his eyes were glassy now. He barely even noticed that Sabby had approached him.

Then Hermione was there, kneeling in front of him, and Harry snapped out of whatever trance he was in. “Sirius,” he choked out.

Hermione nodded, once, and stood up, pulling Harry after her. “Come on,” she muttered. “Let’s find Ron.”

Five minutes later, she didn’t seem nearly as confident as she’d been earlier. “Harry, are you sure?” she asked, as they were climbing up some of the stairs.

“I saw it!” Harry all but yelled. “It was just like with Mr. Weasley!”

Sabby frowned, poking Morten in the shoulder. “ _What happened with Ron’s dad?_ ” she chattered, so she wouldn’t disturb the conversation in front of them.

“ _I have no idea,”_ Morten muttered, shooting worried looks all around. He was fiddling with his handkerchief. “ _It doesn’t seem good_.”

“Harry, please just _listen_!” Hermione begged, and they all came to a halt near the top of the stairs as Harry turned to stare at her. “What if Voldemort meant for you to see this? What if he’s only having Sirius to get to you?”

Harry let out a shaky breath. He stared at her for a moment, and then slowly said, “What if he is? I suppose I’ll just let him die! Hermione, he’s the only family I’ve got left!”

Morten, apparently noticing that Sabby had flinched at the outburst, reached out and grabbed her paw. “ _It’ll be fine_ ,” he said softly. “ _It’ll all be fine_.”

“We have to use the Floor network,” Harry said, replying to a question Sabby hadn’t been able to hear.

“Umbridge is guarding all the Floos,” Hermione reminded him as they once bore began to climb up the stairs.

“Not all of them.”

*

After realizing that today was, indeed, the OWL’s for their friends, Marvin had gone off to try and find something to do. At lunch time, however, he’d realized that Claus wasn’t to be found anywhere in the castle. Marvin hadn’t cared too much, but an hour later Claus still hadn’t showed up. At this point Marvin was actually beginning to feel worried, even though he knew Claus could take care of himself.

So he’d gone looking for him. First in the library, then in the Room of Requirement, then the kitchens, and anywhere else he might be.

Marvin could report, for the second time, that Claus was nowhere to be found. So Marvin had finally given in, and began to walk towards the one place they were not allowed to be.

The Forbidden Forest.

And now Marvin was staring, feeling almost like he was hypnotized, or in some sort of trance. He’d found Claus at one of the places they usually walked to- not their favorite place, but one of the darkest and most deserted ones.

He was practicing the Patronus Charm, Marvin could tell by the milk-like color of the fog and animal that was running around on all four.

It was a fox.

The animal that was running around on all four was a fox.

Claus was facing away from him, but Marvin was almost one hundred per cent sure that he was smiling. Then the fox took a sharp turn, noticed Marvin, and ran over to him. It danced around him for a moment, snuggling up to his side and pushing his arms as if it wanted him to pet it.

In an attempt at following his Patronus with his gaze, Claus turned around, just to be met by a solemn-looking Marvin. He gave a small squeak and jumped backwards, startled into speaking Norwegian. “M-Mikkel! Jeg - I- it’s not-”

Marvin silenced him by raising his wand in a familiar grip, and Claus froze. Was he afraid that Marvin might hurt him? No, he was just in shock.

Never once tearing his gaze away from Claus’, Marvin inhaled sharply. “ _Expecto Patronum,_ ” he said, and thought of short, brown fur and sparkling eyes, a small paw in his, hot chocolate in the kitchens and warm gingerbread.

A mouse joined the fox, and they were instantly enveloped in the pale, milk colored fog. Marvin’s fog had a different tint to it, he noticed, and let his arm drop to his side. Claus’ looked like moonlight reflected in water in comparison with his.

The mouse and fox joined each other in the endless dance, in the endless loop around them.

And Marvin felt a pull, a need to get closer to Claus, to hold him and comfort him and be _his_.

They stared at each other, so far away yet so close. “Marvin,” Claus said, after what seemed like eternity. His voice revealed nothing, nor did his face. But his _eyes_ \- “Are we dating?”

“Yeah,” Marvin said, a bit breathlessly, and nodded his head slowly. “I think we are.”

Claus ran forward and hugged him with a barely concealed sob.

Later, after they’d continued along the path, paw in paw, they found themselves huddled close together on a fallen tree. They were staring at the thestrals in silence.

Or they had, up to now. “You know,” Claus said quietly, but without looking up at Marvin. “Luna told me that only those who have seen death can see thestrals.”

That was oddly poetic, Marvin thought.

“Yeah,” said Claus, and smiled. Marvin must have spoken aloud, then. “I guess you could say so.”

“Who did you see?” Marvin asked, after a pause. It was a rude question, and he knew it, but… in this setting it didn’t seem too put of place.

Claus licked his lips and sighed. “I think,” he begun, throwing a glance up at Marvin, who was already looking at him. “That in the forest, we’re much… well, closer to death, somehow, than those humans. They live very secluded lives.”

Marvin nodded, slowly. There was a point to that. Among humans, everyone were protected, and there were laws. Oh, so many laws! They made Morten’s Law seem like a child’s play.

In the wild, however… it was kill or be killed.

But maybe there was no need for that?

“My family was shot by humans,” Marvin said, and immediately wished he hadn’t. Where did that come from? “When I was young.”

Claus was silent next to him for a moment. “My ma died,” he whispered, into the crisp air. His words were thin, and gleaming silver like a knife, and Marvin wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and protect him forever. “In a fire. I was eight years old.”

There was a pause that lasted ten seconds and a century, and then Marvin exhaled shakily. “I wish I were born a human,” he admitted, and he could hear the underlying message. _I’m sorry that I’m broken. I’m sorry that I’m like this._

Claus stiffened for a short moment, but then he shifted on the log so they were facing each other.

He grabbed Marvin’s paw and held it between his own, much smaller ones. When he met Marvin’s gaze, Claus’ eyes were filled with a thousand different feelings. There was love, and sorrow, and joy, and hundreds upon hundreds of others that Marvin couldn’t decipher.

“Our past _defines_ us,” Claus said, slowly, with emphasis on nearly every word. His expression was solemn, and Marvin felt like what was passing between them, right now, was something much larger than what it looked like. He got the message. _I know you’re broken._ “ _This_ is the you I like.” _But I’m broken, too_. “And don’t you dare forget it,” Claus finished softly. _And it’s okay._

Slowly, as if afraid that the world might break if they achieved such a happiness, Claus leaned closer and pressed a soft kiss to Marvin’s lips.

The world didn’t exactly explode in fireworks; it wasn’t that sort of kiss. But while the world didn’t explode in fireworks, it definitely became just a tiny bit brighter.

Marvin returned the kiss, just as careful as Claus, and their paws were connected through all of it.

“Gosh, Marvin,” Claus said, when they pulled apart. He was grinning. “Didn’t think you had it in you to be soft and sappy.”

There goes the moment, Marvin thought drily, but he grinned back. It was part of the charm. “Says you,” he replied, and Claus let out a bright, happy laughter that licked at Marvin’s skin like sunlight.

As Claus opened his mouth to reply, a pale beaver Patronus came running into the clearing. “ _Guys!_ ” it said, in Sabby’s panicked voice. The calm atmosphere shattered. “ _You gotta come! Harry’s Godfather is in big trouble and he and Hermione are currently out in the forest, tricking Professor Umbridge!”_ There was a brief pause where Marvin and Claus exchanged surprised and worried looks. Then Morten’s voice came from the beaver. “ _Claus, Marvin. This is matters concerning Voldemort. He’s looking for something in a cave somewhere, and I’m afraid that the war might change drastically if he finds it. We have to stop him_.”

Marvin was pulled to his feet when Claus leaped away from the log and began to run. “On my back,” Marvin said, without a second thought, and went down on all four.

Claus climbed on without complaint, and Marvin ran. At some point Claus cast a _Point Me Sabrina Ace_ , and then he began to shout directions into Marvin’s ear.

They were both scared they wouldn’t get there in time, and Marvin pushed himself harder than he ever had before.

*

After the six of them got away from Professor Umbridge’s office, Morten and Sabrina could only hurry after the humans to the bridge. Why the bridge, Morten had no idea, but he didn’t question it. Marvin and Claus caught up with them right before Harry and Hermione came running to meet them.

“How’d you get away?” Hermione asked once they met up with each other.

Ginny answered before Morten had the time to catch his breath. “Puking Pastilles,” she said. “It wasn’t pretty.”

“Told them I was hungry, wanted some sweets,” Ron said, grinning. “They of course told me to bugger off and ate the lot themselves.”

“That was clever, Ron,” Hermione said, sounding pleasantly surprised.

Ron shrugged. “Has been known to happen.”

“It was brilliant!” Neville declared. “So, how are we getting to that cave?”

Claus raised a paw. “Which cave? I still don’t know what’s going on.”

“Harry had a vision about his godfather, Sirius, being captured in a cave filled with prophecies,” Hermione hurried to inform them. “Why there’s prophecies in a cave I have no idea, but we know where it is and how to find it.”

Claus hummed and nodded. “So, how are we getting there?”

Harry sighed, and Morten’s attention was on him. “Look, it’s not that I don’t appreciate everything you’ve done, all of you…” Harry said. “But I’ve got you into enough trouble as it is.” He began to walk away, and Morten found himself gaping at his back.

That’s _it_? He’s leaving _without them_?

“Dumbledore’s Army’s supposed to be about doing something real,” Neville said, sounding disappointed. Harry stopped, and turned around. “Or was that all just words to you?”

“Maybe you don’t have to do this by yourself, mate,” Ron added, quietly.

“I agree with Ron,” Claus said.

Harry blinked. “Even you guys?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “You’ve barely known us for a year.”

Sabrina huffed and crossed her arms. “We’re Hufflepuffs,” she pointed out. “Loyalty is like, our one good trait.”

Morten had to disagree with that –hard working was certainly a good trait, too- but he said nothing.

Claus took a step forward with a solemn expression. “We might only have the spell knowledge of a second year,” he said. “But we want to help.”

When Harry then moved his gaze to linger on Morten, the mouse nodded furiously. They had to help. This world didn’t deserve to break down, and if he could keep it from doing that, he would.

Harry turned to Marvin. “And you, Marvin?”

Marvin, who’d already crossed his arms, shook his head. “You want a fox on your team, buddy. No questions.”

Releasing a shaky breath, Harry took a step back to look at the whole group in general. A long moment passed, and then-

“Fine,” he said. “So how do we get to the cave?”

“We fly, of course,” said Luna, in that dreamy voice Morten had grown to love.

Fly?

*

The night was dark and the cave even darker when Claus slid off the thestral he’d been flying. Marvin bumped his shoulder. “It’s gonna be fine,” he whispered. “I’ll be here. Right by your side.”

Claus swallowed and nodded, but couldn’t tear his gaze away from the dark cave opening. “Right,” he said. “ _Lumos_.”

The tip of his wand lit up, and Marvin quickly followed suit.

Soon, ten wands were lighting their way like tiny stars.

“Okay,” Harry breathed. “Follow me.”

And then he ran.

The cave… didn’t feel much like a cave on the inside. Its walls were polished and gleamed black in the pale light from their wands. It seemed more like a tunnel then a cave.

Claus didn’t like it.

After walking in nearly ten minutes, Harry drew a sharp breath. “This is it,” he said, and turned around to face them. “Through this archway is the Prophecy Room. Are you ready?”

Morten raised his wand into the air. Sabby followed his example, and then Claus, Ginny and Ron, and soon all of them had their wands raised. “We’re ready,” Hermione said.

The room within the archway was huge. Enormous. That’s what it felt like for a mouse, anyways. There were shelves upon shelves of crystal balls filled with a pale smoke. “Prophecy spheres,” Hermione muttered. “There’s so many of them…”

“This is it,” Harry repeated. “Sirius is in here somewhere.” He walked over to one of the shelves. “47,” he muttered. Then he walked to the next shelf. “48. 49. 50. It’s this way!”

He broke into a run, and the rest of them followed after him. “92… 93… 94… 95.”

Harry stopped, and while he looked around there, Claus swallowed and took a step closer to Marvin. “ _I don’t like this place,_ ” he muttered, in fox.

Marvin started slightly, but answered almost promptly. “ _Neither do I. It’s too quiet._ ”

Claus closed his eyes and suppressed a shiver. “ _It’s not that. It’s too dark. Too eerie.”_

Marvin nodded slowly _. “Stay on your guard,”_ he said _. “Don’t put away your wand. Something’s not right here.”_

“It’s a trap,” Morten whispered. “Sirius isn’t here. We have to go.”

Claus wanted to rush out of here the immediate moment Morten pointed it out, but his words were drowned by Neville calling out. “Harry,” he said flatly. He was staring at a prophecy. “It’s got your name on it.”

“ _No, no, no, no, no, no, no,”_ Claus chanted, and took yet another step closer to Marvin. The fox reached out and pulled him closer.

“ _It’s okay_ ,” Marvin whispered. “ _It’ll be okay.”_ He grabbed Claus’ paw and gave it a squeeze.

“Harry!” Hermione cried, and they all spun around to face a figure with a silver mask gleaming in the light from their _Lumos_.

A Death Eater.

“ _Noooooooo_ ,” Claus moaned quietly, raising his wand and aiming it at the Death Eater.

“Where’s Sirius?” Harry snapped, taking a step forward.

The Death Eater chuckled softly, slowly making their way over. “You know, you really should learn to tell the difference between dreams…” they drawled, drawing their wand. With a simple flick of it, the silver mask faded away.

A man with long, blond hair stared at them. He was smirking. “…and reality. You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see.” The man –Claus recalled something vague about a Malfoy- finally stopped, a few meters in front of them. “Now, hand me the Prophecy.”

Harry looked at the glass sphere in his hand, and then up at Malfoy again. “If you do anything to us, I’ll break it,” he said calmly.

A cold, shrill laughter broke through the silence. Claus shuddered, and whispered a quiet “ _Nox_.” His light would do no one any good if it was shaking madly. Honestly, this was embarrassing. Even Morten was looking less frightened than him.

“Oh, he knows how to pl _ay_!” A woman stepped out of the shadows, cackling with glee. “Itty… bitty… baby,” she mocked. “Potter.”

“Bellatrix LeStrange,” Neville gasped.

Oh, so he knew her? Did they have a history? Wonderful! Let’s just talk this over with a cup of tea and then _everything will be fine_!

Bellatrix looked at Neville, and her eyes seemed to practically light up with a crazed happiness. “Neville Longbottom, is it?” she asked, although she clearly knew who he was. “How’s mom and dad?”

“Better,” Neville said, and Claus thought that he was way too calm for this. “Not that they’re about to be avenged!” He lunged forward, apparently ready to attack, but Harry put out an arm and stopped him.

When Claus looked back at Bellatrix, she had her wand drawn.

Morten squeaked, and Claus nearly collapsed at knowing he wasn’t the only one scared her.

Upon hearing the squeak, Bellatrix’ attention moved from Neville to Morten. “And what are you?” Bellatrix purred, pointing a bony finger at Claus’ friend.

“He’s too good for _you_ ,” Sabby snarled, and thrust her wand in Bellatrix’ direction. “He’s mine. Find something else to look at, bitch.”

Bellatrix’ face lit up even more, and she took a quick look over the group. Finally, her eyes bore into Claus’, and a Cheshire grin split her face. Claus whimpered quietly in the back of his throat, and Marvin let out a possessive growl. “Why don’t you go look at that Barbie doll next to you, instead of us?” Marvin suggested, paw clenching around his wand. “He, surely, must be a lot more entertaining.”

Hermione snorted quietly into her sleeve. She, apparently, knew what a Barbie doll was.

“Now, let’s everybody just calm down,” Malfoy said calmly. He was the only one who hadn’t reacted at all during Bellatrix’ little play time. “All we want is that prophecy.”

Claus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Alright. He could do this. They were going to get out of this alive, and Claus would sit in the kitchens once more, drinking hot chocolate with Marvin.

He opened his eyes and raised his wand.

“Why did Voldemort need me to come and get this?” Harry spat.

“You dare speak his name?” Bellatrix whispered, all kind of playfulness gone from her eyes. “You filthy _half-blood_!”

“It’s alright,” Malfoy interrupted, smiling a thin smile. “He’s just a curious lad, aren’t you?” Then, proceeding to answer Harry’s question, “Prophecies can only be retrieved by those about whom they are made.”

“ _There’s more of them_ ,” Marvin suddenly muttered. “ _Behind us. They’re coming closer.”_ Neville, apparently noticing this, too, raised his wand and turned around with a grim expression.

“Which is lucky for you, really,” Malfoy continued.

“ _We gotta face them_ ,” Claus murmured, and turned around to aim his wand at the two Death Eaters approaching him, Neville and Hermione.

“Haven’t you always wondered… what was the reason for the connection between you and the Dark Lord?” Malfoy asked, slowly getting closer again. “Why he was unable to kill you… when you were just an infant? Don’t you want to know the secret of your scar? All the answers are there, Potter, in your hand. All you have to do… is give it to me.” There was a brief pause, but Claus didn’t see what was going on. “Then I can show you everything.”

Ginny, Luna, Morten and Sabby spun around to face the last two Death Eaters. Claus could feel it all the way down to his toes; a fight was coming soon.

“I’ve waited 14 years,” Harry said.

Wait, was he really considering giving the prophecy to Malfoy? Oh, come on, even Claus knew that that would lead to disaster.

“I _know_ ,” Malfoy cooed.

“I guess I can wait a little longer,” Harry said, before shouting “ _Now!_ ”

Claus felt him move into the group and becoming one with it again, and then they were all shouting _stupefy_ and there were Death Eaters flying through the air.

Then there was running and Claus barely noticed that Malfoy apparently _teleported_ in front of them, and then they turned down another aisle, and _Merlin the place was huge_. And then he was suddenly running with Ginny and Morten, and who knows where the rest of the group was? Claus had the time to just turn frightened, but he could hear the others throwing spells around and suddenly they all bumped into each other again.

“ _Reducto_!” Ginny cried, and a Death Eater was thrown backwards. And then, as if in slow motion, the Prophecy Spheres fell of the shelves.

“Fuck,” Claus cursed.

“Back to the door!” Harry yelled, and they all turned around and ran.

Door?

Claus threw himself at the ground and ran like that. In a flash he remembered the day Marvin and he had raced- it seemed like many years ago now, and maybe it was, maybe they all had been stuck here for years upon years upon years.

Then suddenly he fell through a door and onto a stone slide. The others stumbled and fell, and half of Claus was laying on top of Hermione and the other half was under Ginny’s legs.

The ride seemed to last forever, and then they were spat out, through open air.

Claus screamed, and the ground came closer, and closer, and closer-

and ten centimeters above the ground he stopped. They all stopped.

There they hovered for a few seconds, and then the air let them go. Claus let out an _oof_ and took a moment to lay perfectly still. “Oh God,” he whispered at the hard ground, before slowly getting up. “Oh God,” he repeated.

“Are you okay?” Marvin asked, grabbing Claus’ shoulder to steady him.

“’m okay,” Claus replied. He shook his head roughly to get rid of the sleepy feeling. “I’m fine. Super fine. Ready to take on the world.”

The groans from the others stilled, and then Neville asked, “Where _are_ we?”

Claus looked around. It would seem that the giant stone slide had thrown them into a large grotto-like room, with multiple plateaus and rough walls. It actually looked like a cave, unlike the other tunnels and rooms they’d been to.

“No idea,” he said. “Absolutely no idea.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Harry muttered.

“How?”

They all looked around, now. There were no obvious exits or entrances, and the stone slide was many, many meters up. _We’re doomed_.

Then Harry suddenly shouted. “Get behind me!” he cried, and Claus stumbled in his hurry to do as told.

They all pointed their wands at the roof, and after two seconds, Claus understood why.

The black shadow of a Death Eater swooped down and just above their heads. Then came another. And another. And yet another.

There was chaos for a few moments, and Claus felt a pair of strong arms grip around him and pull him away. He tried to fight, but something sharp poked into his throat, so he stopped.

Some ten seconds later, the black shadows lifted. Harry was alone on the floor. Everyone else were held in the grip of a Death Eater.

“Marvin-” Claus croaked, and decided to try to struggle again. It only resulted in his head being pulled back further and the tip of a wand pressed into his flesh.

Marvin’s eyes met his, and there was a desperate plea in them. _Stop moving_ , he seemed to be saying. _It won’t help and you’ll only hurt yourself._

Claus whined, and Marvin’s ears flattened even further.

Morten and Sabby, at least, were held together, by the same Death Eater.

A dark chuckle echoed through the cave walls, and the first Death Eater, Malfoy, walked into the ring the other Death Eaters created around Harry. “Did you actually believe… or were you truly naïve enough to think… that children stood a chance against us?” Malfoy chuckled again, and took the final step. He was now standing directly in front of Harry. “I’ll make this simple for you, Potter. Give me the prophecy now…” Malfoy said, slowly and calmly. He turned his hand so his palm was facing up, ready to accept the prophecy. “Or watch your friends die.”

 _Well, that certainly changes things,_ Claus thought drily.

“Don’t give it to him!” Neville shouted, and the Death Eater that held him nearly stabbed her wand into his neck.

 _I mean_ , Claus thought. _It would certainly be nice to not die, but… your choice, Harry_.

Harry looked at the prophecy with a troubled expression. Then he looked up and met Hermione’s gaze. Then Ron’s.

Then he handed it over. Just like that. So simple.

There was a moment where Claus expected Malfoy to calmly say _kill them_ , but then there was a flash of bright light and suddenly there was a man among them.

Malfoy turned around to face him with a startled expression. “Get away from my godson,” the man said, and punched Malfoy in the nose.

Then there was more light, and more people popping in, and Claus was Immensely Relieved. He recognized these people. Harry had shown him pictures. It was the Order of the Phoenix, and they’d apparently come to fight Voldemort and his followers.

Come to think of it, Claus hadn’t seen Voldemort even once…

And that was all the time he had to think about that, because the Death Eater that had been holding him suddenly let go, and he tumbled to the floor. There were spells being shot this way and that, and Claus dodged the best he could.

And suddenly Marvin was there, and they were back to back, and Claus was shooting offensive spells while Marvin kept up a steady stream of different shields.

 _We’re coming out of this alive_ , Claus thought bitterly, and shot off a curse at an incoming Death Eater. _This isn’t over yet._

*

The immediate thing Sabby did after being released from the Death Eater’s hold, was grab Morten’s paw and roll away to hide behind a rock. The second thing she did, was kiss him fiercely, then break apart almost immediately. “We can do this,” she said, harshly, quietly. She reached out and grabbed his face between her paws, staring into his eyes with a determined expression. “There’s nothing stopping us. The world can be at our feet, Morten. You hear me?”

He nodded, slowly, so he wouldn’t shake her paws away. “I hear you,” he said. “Loud and clear. And whatever happens out there, you’re _never_ alone.”

Sabby took a moment, a short, precious moment, to bask in the warmth of his gaze. “I love you,” she told him. Then she pulled him closer, painfully slow on purpose.

Even slower, she rubbed her chin over his cheek, and then his head, marking him as hers. “I love you,” she repeated.

“I know,” Morten said. “I know.”

Then she stood up and threw herself into the fight. Spells were flying, shrill yells were piercing the air, and Sabby couldn’t help but love the utter chaos of it all.

Morten was by her side in an instant. “I’ve got your back,” he hissed, and raised his wand.

“And I’ve got yours. Let’s do this.”

They were smaller than most of the other people fighting, which gave them a large advantage. Sabby cast a _confundo_ at a Death Eater battling Hermione. She didn’t wait to see what happened to him, but continued on to the next target.

“ _Colloshoo_ ,” she heard Morten say behind her, and grinned. The spell would glue a person’s shoes to the floor.

Focusing her magic, Sabby threw an overpowered Cheering Charm at another Death Eater, causing her to break down in hysterical laughter.

“ _Protego_ ,” Morten said, and Sabby felt more than saw the protective sphere slide over them. “Stray away curse,” Morten explained, even though Sabby hadn’t needed it.

“ _Bombarda,_ ” she said, instead of answering.

*

Keeping up a steady stream of protective spells was starting to wear Marvin out, so he cast a Protego and kept it up. It didn’t require as much power as a steady stream did, after all. “How are you doing?” he asked, not daring to turn around.

Claus laughed hysterically. “Oh Marvin, I’m doing _just fine thank you_! _Cantis_!”

“Isn’t that a spell that causes the victim to sing?” Marvin asked, casting a _diffindo_ to keep a Death Eater from coming any closer.

“It is,” Claus replied, just as someone burst into loud singing. “She won’t be able to cast anything now.”

“Smart,” Marvin said, and cast a new Protego.

“Of course,” Claus said. “ _Defodio_!” Someone screamed. “…that’s a lot of blood.”

Marvin choked. “Thank you for that particular piece of information.”

Claus was silent for a moment, then, “I think he died.”

“ _Thank you,_ Claus, I’m _trying to keep **us** from dying here_ -”

“Right, sorry.”

After shooting down another Death Eater, Marvin turned his head to see Hermione running towards them. And she was- carrying a sword?

“Claus,” she breathed when she came close enough to do so. “Claus, you gotta take this sword up to Neville, he needs it right now.”

Claus stared. “What?”

Hermione huffed, pushing the sword in his direction. “Take the sword to Neville! He’s up on the next plateau!”

Fumbling to grab the sword without hurting himself, Claus stuttered something incoherent. “Wh- why- wha- up _there_? How am I gonna get up?”

“You’re a climbing mouse, aren’t you?” Hermione asked, looking at him with something like desperation in her eyes.

“Well, yes, but-”

“Then _climb_ ,” Hermione insisted, once more pushing the sword towards him.

Claus seemed confused for a moment, then bewildered. Then his expression hardened with determination, and he nodded once.

Marvin stared after him as he ran for the nearest wall. “ _Cantis_ ,” he said, aiming his wand for the nearest Death Eater.

“Wha-” Hermione said. She cut herself off when the Death Eater started to sing loudly, and Tonks managed to take him down. “Oh.”

Somehow they ended up standing back to back, just like Claus and he had done prior. “ _Defodio_ ,” Marvin cried, curious to see what it would do.

The spell gouged a large chunk of flesh out of the Death Eater, who screamed and fell to the ground. “…oh,” Marvin said. “I see.”

Casting a look at the wall, he took a few precious moments to search for Claus. And there he was, a sword too large for him to wield dangling from one paw.

And there was a Death Eater aiming their wand at him.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Marvin growled, leaping forward. “ _Protego,_ ” he snarled, making the word sharp. After kidding around with it some, the animals had figured out that the spell, when pronounced like a Norwegian word, put the protective forces on the inside of the shield instead of the outside. Now, no spells would be able to get through to the outside.

To the inside, however… Marvin cast a quick _reducto_.

The Death Eater was flung backwards, and Marvin came after him. Perhaps it was time to fight the way he usually fought; like an animal.

*

There was blood everywhere. On the ground. On Morten’s paws. In his fur. On the Death Eater’s dark robes.

 _I am not a murderer_ , Morten thought. _I am not._

Sabrina was on her knees just to Morten’s left, hissing through clenched teeth. She was pressing a paw to her chest, and Morten broke away from the wounded human. “Are you okay?” he whispered, grabbing her paw and gently guiding it away. He was relieved to see no blood staining her clothes, but she was obviously still in pain.

“Just a broken rib,” came the strained reply. “Used to it.”

“I think I killed him,” Morten said, casting a look over his shoulder. The Death Eater’s chest was still. “I killed him. Oh my God.”

Sabrina twisted her paw so she’d be holding his, instead of him holding hers. “You _saved my life_ ,” she hissed at him. Her eyes were clouded with pain, but beneath that, he could see her acceptance. Her love. Her affection. “It doesn’t _matter_.”

Morten opened his mouth, about to answer, when someone laughed.

All the blood drained from his face. He knew, almost instinctively, who it was. Who else could have such a cold, horrible laugh, that sends chills down your spine?”

“Voldemort,” he whispered.

*

You know, being a climber mouse doesn’t immediately mean that you can climb on stone for a long time. Claus knew that, now. “Take the sword to Neville, she says,” he grumbled around his wand, which he held in his maw. “It’ll be easy, she says.” It wasn’t easy. Not at all. Claus would have been able to do it much faster, had he not been carrying the goddamned sword. “Never mind asking how Neville got up here, or why he needs the sword!”

The stone he was about to step on loosened from the wall, and Claus pressed himself flat against the stone and held his breath. When his heartbeat calmed down some, he took a moment to just breathe. “It’s not easy,” he sing-sung. “It’s not easy at alllll, I’m gonna fall doooown, I’m gonna dieee, Neville’s never gonna get his swoooord…”

His paws were shaking, and so were his legs. Claus paused to readjust his grip on the hilt of the sword, and hissed when he nearly lost it. “Let’s not clench your jaws, now, Claus,” he muttered. “You’ll break your wand and that will suck. Period.”

He was halfway over, now. He’d nearly fallen down five times already, but at least he was getting the hang of it! “Puns,” Claus groaned. “I’m one step away from dying and I come up with puns.”

A loud laugh pierced the air. A cold, nightmare-ish laugh that brought forth Claus’ worst fears.

He laughed hysterically. “Oh, great! Voldemort has joined the party!”

Another rock loosened when Claus tried to hurry, so he decided not to do that.

Then a bright green spell shot into the stone next to him, causing it to crack. Claus startled and yelped. He lost his grip on the stone, and on instinct reached out with his other paw to grasp after something, anything, to keep him from falling.

Too late did he realize that he’d lost the sword.

He gasped, twisted so fast his back popped, and stared down at where he saw the sword falling. “Fuck,” he swore. “Fuuuuck, I have to do everything again…”

Voldemort was standing down there, and no one seemed inclined to tell him that a sword was falling towards him.

And then it was too late, because the sharp, gleaming blade buried itself in the flesh of his scalp. The fall gave it more force, and so it buried itself all the way in to the hilt.

“Well,” said Claus flatly. Voldemort fell over. “Ops?”

He began to climb, straight down this time. It was much easier now that he wasn’t holding a sword, but he didn’t think too much about that.

When his paws hit solid ground again, Claus turned and took in the room. All the fighting had stopped. Not that there were many people left to fight; most of the Death Eaters were either dead or unconscious. There was blood everywhere, including around Voldemort.

And speaking of Voldemort… the heart of the DA was staring at his fallen body. Marvin crouched down beside him, and reached out to touch his throat.

Claus let out a shaky breath and walked towards them. At speaking distance, he stopped, not feeling ready enough to take it on yet.

Marvin slowly stood up. He turned around to face Claus. There was blood on his muzzle and splattered across his face and his claws, but his eyes were calm, albeit a tad sad. “He’s dead,” Marvin declared, and Claus felt like Marvin was telling him more than telling the whole room. “You killed him.”

Claus whimpered, and ran towards Marvin, who sank down on his knees to meet him in a bone crushing hug. When Claus wrapped his arms around his torso, it felt like coming home, like the heat of the fireplace in the Slytherin common room, like sitting in the kitchens and eating gingerbread, like taking walks in the Forbidden Forest.

Claus cried.

Marvin held him tight, tighter than he’d ever held, nuzzling his head and muttering soothing noises in his ears. “Claus, I’m bloody,” he finally whispered. “I’m covered in blood from head to toe, you really shouldn’t…”

“I don’t care,” Claus replied, his voice hoarse and shaky. “I don’t care, Marvin, I don’t give a fuck, and I don’t think I could have if I wanted to.” And with that, Claus pulled back just enough to press a desperate kiss to Marvin’s lips.

A kiss which Marvin replied to almost instantly.

Someone among their friends gave a cry of victory. “I knew it!” Ron yelled. “I bloody knew it! Hermione, hand me the money!”

This kiss was nothing like their last one. The last one had been soft, and careful, and sweet. This one tasted like a weak victory, like pain and hunger and gunpowder. “I think I’m in love with you,” Claus said when he pulled away.

Marvin made a little whine at the back of his throat. “I’m gonna mark you and you better not complain,” he muttered, but it wasn’t a growl. It was nothing like a growl, and Claus knew that he could say no if he wanted to.

“ _Go on_ ,” Claus muttered back, speaking in fox just to give more meaning to the words.

Marvin did.

*

Feeling someone nudge her shoulder, Sabby quickly found something else to look at. “What’re they doing?” Ron muttered.

“They’re- they’re marking each other,” Sabby whispered.

Morten butted in with a little headshake. “It’s- well, at least for foxes- it’s almost like marriage vows.”

Ron’s eyes widened. “Wait, they’re getting _married_? Right now?”

“Not exactly,” said Sabby. “It’s more like. Fiancés. They’re giving each other a promise, but- well, as far as we know, it’s not fulfilled.”

“I was bloody fucking right,” Ron grinned. “Wait, what does fulfilled mean?”

Luna smiled her dreamy smile and replied for Sabby. “It means that they have to have sex first.”

Morten groaned and put a paw over his eyes. “Mental images,” he wailed. “I did not need this.”

“Stop talking about us!” Marvin yelled. “I can hear you, you know.”

Claus’ muffled voice came, then. “What’re they saying?”

Harry sighed heavily, and said, in a rather flat voice, “Well, this was all quite anticlimactic.”

“Hey kiddos,” a new voice interrupted. Sabby turned around to see the man they had all originally come to save; Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather. “We’ve got the last of the Death Eaters into chains. You’ve all done a great job.” He then wrinkled his nose. “More than half of them are dead. Have any of you got anything to do with that?”

Marvin and Claus, who were walking over, whistled innocently. Sirius very obviously eyed the blood on Marvin’s muzzle. “And a lot of them had bite marks on their faces, throats and wrists.”

Marvin whistled louder, while Claus coughed into his paw.

Sirius’ eyebrows rose almost into his hairline. “Right,” he said. “Well, you know what, I’m not even going to reprimand you. Let’s get the lot of you back to Hogwarts. I’m sure you all have a lot to talk about, but you can do that tomorrow. You should all get Madam Pomfrey to check those cuts, and to see if you have any other damage.”

“Come with us,” Harry said, a touch of pleading in his voice. “Please. I nearly lost you today.”

Sirius sighed heavily. “I’m so sorry, Harry, but no can do. I’ve got things I have to do.”

Harry’s expression was crestfallen, but he nodded. “Did anyone die?”

“Not on our side,” Sirius replied, and he smiled softly. “Thanks to you.”

“I also require an explanation,” Hermione declared, crossing her arms and frowning. “Why were there prophecy spheres here? How did you know we were here? What _is_ this place?”

“Tomorrow, Hermione,” Sirius smiled. “You’ll all get answers tomorrow.”

Sabby closed her eyes and leaned against Morten’s shoulder for support. He patted her arm. “ _It’s fine_ ,” he muttered. “ _We’re all fine_.”

*

The infirmary beds weren’t comfortable, but they weren’t quite _un_ comfortable either. It didn’t matter that much, though, because when Marvin laid down in one he immediately felt exhausted. “Magical exhaustion,” Madam Pomfrey said, tutting and shaking her head. “What have you been up to?”

“Protective spells,” Marvin croaked. “How’re the others?”

Madam Pomfrey hummed, casting another diagnosis spell. “Miss Ace has two broken ribs, Mr. Woodmouse is suffering from magical exhaustion, and Mr. Climbermouse has a few dozen cuts on his palms.”

Closing his eyes, Marvin nodded weakly. “And the… the humans?”

Madam Pomfrey stopped, standing still and just staring at him for a moment. Then she spoke, and her voice was soft as silk. “Miss Lovegood is recovering from a gash on her forehead, but other than that, they’re fine. You’re all staying here at least tonight, however.”

Marvin nodded again, and promptly fell asleep.

When he woke up again, it was daytime, and the infirmary was full of people. They were all gathered around three beds, which Marvin assumed were Harry’s, Hermione’s and Ron’s. No one else in their group would gather any attention like that. Good. He would be left alone, then.

The fox sat up slowly, rubbing his temples when a headache bloomed. “Good morning,” said a cheerful voice to his left.

Marvin looked up and smiled. “Morning, Claus.”

The mouse was sitting up in his own bed, band-aided paws in his lap. He was grinning. “What’s your diagnose?”

Marvin shrugged. “Magical exhaustion. And cuts, of course… Madam Pomfrey is wary of healing them with magic.”

“Understandable,” Claus nodded. “Our bodies aren’t used to it.

Maybe they’d scar? “Hey, will I get any cool scars?”

“Oh yeah,” said Claus, a playful spark lighting in his eyes. “Definitely.”

“Where?”

Claus put his covered paws to the wall and dragged his bed to the right. He didn’t stop until their beds were standing right next to each other. “Right… here,” Claus grinned, reaching out with his right paw to trace a cut that apparently went straight over Marvin’s snout. “And… here.” Another cut, this one much smaller, on his cheek. “What about me? Do I have any?”

He didn’t know about the gigantic gash on his cheek? Huh.

Marvin grinned. “Yup.” He leaned closer, and licked the gash in an affectionate gesture. “Here.”

Claus giggled.

“So this is a thing, apparently,” a voice said, interrupting their moment. Claus leaned over to the side, looking past Marvin, and waved.

“Hi, Hermione! Hi, Harry! Hi, Ron!”

Marvin turned around. The Golden Trio was staring at them, two of them with wide eyes and one smiling widely.

“How long?” Hermione finally croaked, shaking her head slightly in confusion. “I mean, I was kind of expecting Sabby and Morten to become an item, but you two?”

“I was expecting it,” said Ron, rubbing his hands together. “I knew it, all along!”

“Yeah,” Harry muttered, glancing at Ron and shaking his head. “Uh, about that. You’re not planning on stealing a unicorn and naming it Bert, are you?”

“Uhm,” said Marvin.

“Not as far as I know,” Claus shrugged. “Marvin, are _you_ planning on stealing a unicorn?”

“Ah?” said Marvin.

“I think we broke him,” Harry muttered.

“Then you better fix him again,” Claus said. “I’d prefer the Marvin I love, thank you very much.”

Marvin snapped his jaw shut, ignoring the blush creeping up his neck. It warmed him, from head to toe, that Claus was so open about it.

“How long has this been going on?”

Marvin and Claus exchanged looks. “No idea,” Marvin said, at the same time as Claus declared, “Long.”

The two of them laughed. “We kinda just… figured out that we were dating,” Claus explained, when Hermione was looking at them as if they’d grown three heads.

“I’m hungry,” Ron declared to the room in general. “Let’s leave the lovebirds alone and go get some food, eh?”

They went to get some food, finally trusting Ron on his gut feelings.

“A unicorn?” Marvin asked, when they were out the doors.

When he turned to look at Claus, the mouse simply shrugged. “Don’t ask me,” he said, raising his paws into the air. “I don’t know. Honest.”

Snorting, Marvin leaned closer. “I believe you,” he said.

There was a pause, and something soft and vulnerable flashed in Claus’ eyes. “…did you mean it?”

Puzzled, Marvin raised an eyebrow. “Mean what?”

Claus swallowed and looked away. “Marking me, I mean. Did you mean it? Or was it just a… a spur of the moment thing?”

After fighting for words for a few seconds, Marvin huffed and crawled over in the other bed. He gathered Claus in his arms, pulling his chin over his head, rubbing his cheek against his neck, against Claus’ cheek, everywhere he could reach, and then he pulled back again. “Does that answer it?” he whispered softly, with one last touch off his cheek. He’d marked him, mixed their scents so that everyone would be able to know. Well, everyone that had a functioning nose, anyways. “You’re mine.”

The mouse shuddered, turning into jelly in Marvin’s arms. “Yours,” he breathed, and leaned in to kiss him.

*

The first thing Morten noticed when he woke up, was the comforting presence of his mate.

His mate…

He started, sitting up abruptly to shoot frantic looks around. But no, he was still in the infirmary, Sabrina was safe, and he was-

 _a murderer_.

Not that he wasn’t used to death. When you lived in the forest, you kinda had to be used to death and disease.

He was just… not used to him being the cause of it.

“You’re awake,” a happy voice stated, and Morten felt some of the horror melt away.

He smiled, although it was a strained one. “Hi.”

Sabrina smiled back, and nuzzled into his side. “Harry, Hermione and Ron have visited. Most of the Hufflepuffs came, too, with gifts.”

Morten giggled, wrapping his arms around her and affectionately nuzzling the top of her head. “What about Claus and Marvin?”

Now it was Sabrina’s turn to giggle. “Oh, they’re okay. Flirting right now, in fact.”

“What a journey this has been,” Morten muttered, shaking his head slightly. He was smiling.

“A great journey,” Sabrina replied, and Morten laughed.

“A great journey,” he agreed.


End file.
